Troy
Alexander Beaty, one of Railroad Valley's first settlers, discovered silver in May 1867, leading to the establishment of the Troy District and the like-named camp the following year. He sold his holdings to the English-invested Troy Silver Mining Company in 1870 to focus on ranching. The Company expended $500,000 to erect a 20-stamp mill equipped with two Stetefeldt furnaces, placed into operation late in 1872. By this time Troy had grown to a population of more than 100 with two stores, a boardinghouse, and a school. The mill was never successful and water in the mines were a problem, leading to the end of all operations in 1875. The mill was dismantled the next year and relocated to Ward. Despite all of the work, only an estimated fourteen silver bars were ever produced.
After 1876, a few isolated prospectors remained in and around Troy until new deposits were found in 1908. Troy was reborn, and though never grew to match its previous self, it did regain a post office (located at the mouth of the canyon, rather than the townsite). The revival lasted until 1915, when Troy was vitually deserted. Its final gasp at life began in 1936 due to demand for metals prior to World War II, when Joseph Hafen organized the Old English Gold Corporation and reopened the old Locke Mine. Between 1942 and 1946, the operation was placed on hold due to the War, after which a 50-ton flotation mill was built. It closed in the mid-1960s, and since then few buildings were periodically occupied by hunters and fishers until a wildfire in 1996 finally brought their use to an end.
