Luning, Nevada, USA, Elevation 4,480 feet
N 38° 30.176 W 118° 10.533
11S E 397497 N 4262273
Luning, Nevada currently has a population of about 87.
Zipcode 89420
Waymark Code: WMFWMC
Location: Nevada, United States
Date Posted: 12/08/2012
Views: 7
Luning is located in Mineral County, Nevada. It has a population of about 87 and an elevation of 4,480 feet.
Luning has a very rich mining history, being located close to silver and copper mines, and some minor gold mines. The town boomed in the late 1800s and early 1900s and was once a railroad town, with its own train station.
Luning History
Luning was originally called “Deep Wells” and was a stage stop until about 1881 when the Carson & Colorado Railroad reached the area, and then the town was renamed as Luning, in honor of the major bondholder of the railroad. The town is located about 25 miles east of Hawthorne, on US 95. It is in the valley between the Gabbs Valley Range and Excelsior Mountains. From 1881-82, the town enjoyed its height with a post office (opened in 1892), saloons, several stores, and the railroad depot. The most notes mines near Luning was the Santa Fe and silver mine. and the Copper Queen mine. By 1894, the majority of the mining had stopped, although the town enjoyed another short-lived revival in 1900 when copper was discovered and the famous Copper Queen mine flourished. Some local mining continued during the WWI years, and a there is still mining in the area today.
Famous Resident:
Probably the most famous resident that ever called Luning "home" was the "Copper Queen" herself, Ferminia Sarras, a native of Nicaragua who lived a rough-and-tumble life of prospector and miner, and enjoyed success that allowed her to live a lavish livestyle. She was know to be harsh, tough, was married at least 5 times (usually to men who was younger than she was, and able to "protect" her but also who were all rumored to have died violent deaths). Ferminia, for whom the nearby town Mina was named, had four daughters by her first husband, and later had a son who was reportedly the result of a fling with a man whom she did not marry.
By the time she died (in Luning) in 1915, she had made several fortunes on her copper mines. At her death, she willed her fortune to relatives, including her most valuable mine, located in Giroux Canyon, Nevada which is still in operation.
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