Sadly when it comes to the ghost town of National Nevada not many folks have ever heard of it as a matter in fact you would have never thought that this was one of the richest gold mining bonanza's in the state. It could be due to the fact that its such a remote location nestled in the Santa Rosa Mountains or the fact that so very little today remains it has not gotten the attention it deserves. It was two prospectors who had made the initial discovery in June of 1907 and filed 34 claims after parts of their company known as National Motor Vehicle Company. If you study a topography map you will find that many of the geological features have names in relation to the automobile such as Radiator and Auto Hills. Even some of the roads are named after auto terms which is a nice little tidbit of history. 

It must had been quite a feat to get an automobile up into the Santa Rosa Mountains in the early 1900's while National Canyon is fairly well maintained their are areas that three mile creek washes over the road. But the two prospectors wanted to promote automobile prospecting and show the world that you could get out just about anywhere to explore using one of their new vehicles. Back then automobiles had to be cranked and you did not have four wheel drive. So these men were very bold in making an attempt to get one of their cars up into the canyon where they find some very wealthy gold ledges. By 1908 leases were given all the way up to 15 months at a time and the two men would receive royalties. By 1909 rich gold was being discovered in multiple shafts thus the ore was worth about $30 per pound.

When news had broken out of the rich discoveries business owners, miners, gamblers, adventurers, doctors and quite a few families relocated to the canyon. The camp grew around this time easily to about 2000 residents. In order to feed the immense population many ranchers in Paradise Valley just over the range grew crops and provided livestock for National's residents. The leasers from 1909 to 1910 were producing nearly 300k per month in ore while selected ore up to $100,000 a ton had been shipped. Later in 1910 the National Mining Company had purchased the lease expanding its mining operation. By 1911 gold production had reached about 4 million in a matter of months. The problem was that some of the locals were breaking into the mine to steal sacks of ore including two armed men. This led to tower being constructed and a searchlight had been installed at the top of it which shined right down towards the mine entrance. Two security guards would be hired to watch over the mine day and night to prevent any further incidences. 

By 1910 to 1911 National boasted a two story hotel, post office, stores, saloons, newspaper called "The Weekly Miner", school, stage lines, assay office, mills, doctors, dentists and quite a few other businesses as you can tell from the vintage photos I published on this page. It was a bustling town and many of the miners that came here actually came from Tonopah Nevada. While those who may not have had success may have tried a hand in ranching on the other side of the Santa Rosa Mountains in Paradise Valley or moved onto to other nearby mining camps like Jumbo, Buckskin, Queen City, Spring City and Daveytown Nevada. Those that lived here often said the streets were paved with gold some even said the roads sparkled. Sadly National was short lived and eventually its issues began to mount such as depletion of the mines. 

In 1912 The National Mining Company took to court two other nearby mines who were trespassing on their claim. As a matter in fact the litigation was held in Carson City which is not to far from where today The Paranormal & Ghost Society is based. It took about a year but the National came out victorious. Sadly by 1915 most folks had left the camp and mines were beginning to shut down. In total the gold boom had only lasted a few years but about 7 million in bullion was brought out of the mines making it one of the richest discoveries in Nevada along with another million prior to the mines closure. The miners begin to leave the boarding houses moving onto to other camps some gold veins were simply exhausted. During WWI the National Mine closed its doors for good along with its pay window. The dinner gong at the mine and striker could no longer be heard. Eventually quite a few storms that hit the Santa Rosa mountains destroyed almost anything that had been standing leaving only a pile of rubble in its wake within the Humboldt National Forest.

Just like any mining town National was rowdy and boisterous but it never had gotten the attention it deserved which is why I decided to work so hard on bringing our viewers this project. Men played poker in the saloons while women often stayed home tending to the children or cooking. Mines littered the entire canyon and winters here were harsh. More then likely it was not an easy town to reside in due to the intense weather but also because it was so isolated. Their are quite a few roads that go off to various mines and many big open areas where once homes once stood. The two story hotel was gorgeous back in the day rumor has it that it was a really nice establishment at the time and today their is not one sign it ever existed. I was a bit taken away after studying vintage photos of the town in comparison to today. Honestly, how could a town that contained hundreds of structures be erased from the history books? No less it is a bit shocking but also what it proves to our viewers is that these ghost towns vanish without a trace and that the work that we do is important because one day most places will no longer exist.

Sadly today all your going to find are a few wood boards, dump piles, stone ruins at the mouth of the canyon, rusty relics such as a stove, remnants of the Birthday Mine and Mill are that is left. I have read a recent account where someone had claimed the National Mill, Assay Office and a few wood cabins still stand. However, based on our last two expeditions what I can say its that its very sporadic and parts of the canyon are so overgrown its hard to know what might remain hidden and at best the original town site is a sea of sage brush. For being Nevada's richest mining camp it would appear so very few have photographic evidence of the town site while my last two expeditions were hindered by winter weather so we have seen about 70 percent of the canyon and the dirt roads which chute off from it. I can tell our viewers with certainty we will do one final expedition into National Canyon while we adventure in another nearby ghost town high above National known as Buckskin in the future.

The Buckskin Mine was founded in 1906 near Buckskin Peak after the Buckskin National Gold Mining Company built a large mill shortly after. It was a prospector named William John Bell who filed the first claim here naming it Buckskin because of the golden grass which grew at the top of the peak which resembled a tanned Buckskin. You can consider Buckskin National's sister town and many of the miners as well as business owners had ties to both camps.  Numerous leasers supposedly had little luck mining the site and in 1930 the Nevada Lucky Tiger Company tried to revitalize the mines and built a new mill which went up in flames that same year. Despite the fact that it was not the richest discovery the Buckskin Mine did produce about 24,000 ounces in gold and 300,00 ounces of silver. Today people visit Buckskin to camp, hike and explore its abandoned buildings as a matter in fact its belonged to the Bell family for over three generations.

While National may no longer exist in 1925 the Birthday Mine had opened up which was rich with Gold, Copper and arsenic deposits based on mining records. Today the milling remnants and ore bin chutes can be seen from just about anywhere in National Canyon and honestly in my opinion its about the only substantial site that is left standing considering many of the other mines only tailings remain. Since then their have been attempts to revitalize mining within the canyon and their still is plenty of gold awaiting to be discovered here which is why a recent mining company has purchased the National Mining Site. More then likely in the future the ghost town of National will be totally off limits which is why its so important to keep this location alive for those who have a deep love for Nevada's gold mining history. National Canyon is a world away from a world where the antelope run free and the Santa Rosa Mountains offer many scenic backdrops. Some wonder why many of the roads here are still well maintained perhaps it is due to the fact that one day their is hope that this gold mining town may be reborn once again.

Copyright By
Lord Rick aka AngelOfThyNight
PGS Founder
Author, Urban Explorer, Paranormal Investigator, Producer, Talk Show Host and News Editor

Below is what downtown National Looks like today which is merely a sea of sage brush. You can compare the black and white photo directly above with the three photos below. The large open area below where it is all flat was the town site. I did explore the town site found a mine cart, stove, pieces of rusty metal and cans but this is all that appears to be left of old National. Unfortunately due to the snow many of the relics of the past were buried under fresh powder however it appears that any standing structures are long gone despite what others might tell you. I have compared my photography to original pictures of the town and this is downtown right before it ascends up through National Gulch to the National Mine Site. Now its possible down some of the roads I could not access due to winter weather that their might be a few structures or even the Mill but as far as old National goes its long gone as a matter in fact in the 1960's very little stood here so you can imagine with it being 2018 that many remnants have been lost as well as history. In all three photos below the town would have been off to the right which is overgrown with sagebrush.

The photo directly above is where the town site stood I seen some rusty relics hidden in the brush pulled over and went a few hundred feet back into the sage brush. While the structures are gone the views have never changed. You can see straight ahead where the two hills/peaks meet to form National Gulch where the gold mining transpired just a short distance above town. I knew this had to be the town site because I seen buried under snow remnants but never did I find a foundation. You can actually see some remnants in the photo above but they are covered in snow. With the photo below this wide open area that you are viewing was where the town resided taken from a mining road just a few hundred feet above.

You can clearly see in the photo above a very wide open area to the right which is the town site. To the left is a dump pile which also appears in some of the vintage photos of National. Again you can see where both hills meet to form what is known as National Gulch and below it is the town. The photo below is stone ruins which are found at the mouth of the canyon. Strangely the ruins are a few miles away from the town site and perhaps this structure is about all that remains standing of anything left behind from National's boom years. While not much remains in National Canyon of the town it is very scenic and serene.




The Mouth Of National Canyon greets us with a set of stone ruins and a patch of trees from afar where at one time was considered the outskirts of town. Further up into the canyon are the mines and the actual town site which generally is under snow most of the cooler months.

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