Mina, Nevada, USA. - Elevation 4,540 feet
N 38° 23.049 W 118° 06.401
11S E 403343 N 4249018
Mina is a minor town in Mineral County, Nevada.
Waymark Code: WMFWK6
Location: Nevada, United States
Date Posted: 12/08/2012
Views: 5
Mina is a small town in Mineral County, which is in west-central Nevada. It is located alongisde U.S. Route 95 (also known as Veterans Highway).
The 2010 population was 155, down from a high of about 400 at its peak, in the 1920's. Originally founded as a railroad town in 1905, it was said to have been named for Ferminia Sarras, a prospector and owner of the famous mine known as the 'Copper Queen.'
A bit of Railroad history:
In 1905, the Carson & Colorado/Southern Pacific Railroad built track to from Mound House, Nevada to Keeler, California, running thru the small town of Mina. A 40x100 foot freight house was built in Mina that year, and the next year (1906) a two-story 24x60 train station was built. It is interesting that the track from Mound House to Tonopah Junction was standard gauge rail and the portion south from Tonopah Junction to Keeler was narrow gauge. The railroad began to abandon portions of the track as usage declined, first abandoning the track from Tonopah Junction to Benton in 1938, then from Benton to Laws in 1943 and the final portion from Laws to Keeler was abandoned in April 1960. The track thru Mina was torn up and the freight house and rail station are also gone.
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Local History:
Mina is notorius as the location where a famous murder occurred. On August 27, 1921, Gee Jon and Hughis Sing were convicted of the murder of an elderly laundry workers, Tom Quong Kee, (all three were tong gang members) and, as a result of this murder and conviction, 29 year old Gee Jon, (a member of the Hop Sing Tong), became the first person in the world executed by lethal gas, which occurred at the at the Nevada State Prison on February 8, 1924.
(source: nsla.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&id=1453&Itemid=95
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Other interesting facts:
There is a large herd of unique wild burros that roam the desert near Mina.
(source: www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/carson_city_field/blm_programs/recreation/marietta.html)
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