Delamar, also known as “The Widowmaker”, is a ghost town in eastern Nevada. The town is expansive, and thanks to its mostly masonry construction, still has quite a few walls and partial buildings to visit. This is probably the most interesting ghost town I have visited. You could easily spend a couple of days exploring the area.

History: Farmers from the Pahranagat Valley discovered gold in the late 1800s. Soon after, Captain John Delamar came to the valley and purchased mining claims in the area for $150,000 in 1893. Camp Delamar soon became town Delamar as the boom began!

The town had many stores, saloons, and a theater by the 1890s. This is remarkable to think of since water had to be pumped a fair distance from the valley below. Supplies were brought in via a long mule journey from Milford Utah about 150 miles away.

Unfortunately, however, the rock the miners were tunneling into in search of gold contained silica. The mining released silica dust into the air, which when inhaled over time causes silicosis, a hardening and scaring of the lungs. This led to the town becoming known as the Widowmaker. Recent investigations show the mines may have also had high levels of radon, which likely worsened miners’ health as well.

After a fire in 1900, Delamar sold his shares and moved on. The mines had produced about $8.5 million in gold. Mining continued after the sale until about 1910. The area had a brief resurgence in the 1920s, however, the boom times were over. Since the 1920s, the town has slowly deteriorated into the ghost town it is today.

Maps

Printable Maps: