Directions: Take US 95 south from Fallon for 71.4 miles; continue south on SR 359 for 4.1 miles; turn right and head west on Lucky Boy Pass Rd (National Forest Development Rd 026) for 16.5 miles; turn right and head south on local road for 3.5 miles; turn right on local road for 4.5 miles.

From Fallon: 100 miles

What Was

This is the big one. Aurora. At one time one of the largest cities in Nevada with a population of 10,000, it was county seat for Esmeralda County, NV and Mono County, California, until surveyors got their act together. In 1860, prospectors in search of game and water discovered gold, and a camp was established a mile west on Gregory Flats, named Esmeralda. A town site was platted a month later, named Aurora, and by the spring of 1861 there were 2000 inhabitants and an eight stamp mill. Claimed by both Nevada and California, the town prospered to the point of attracted a young Samuel Clemens, who worked in one of the mills. It was from Aurora that Clemens sent the dispatches to the Territitorial Enterprise in Virginia City that started him on his road to fame. By 1863 there were 10,000 people and 16 mills pounding ore. In the fall, surveyors finally fixed the boundary, and Mono County officials moved to Bodie. By 1865 the towns population was halved due to stock manipulation and speculation; and buy 1869 surface workings were exhausted. In 1882 Aurora lost it's post office and the county seat to Hawthorne. During the boom of the early 1900's, the camp was rejuvenated and the post office returned, but by 1919 it was gone for good. After World War Two, brick scavengers removed much of what was left standing, reducing Aurora to less than a shell of its formal self.

Through the magic of Flash, I have constructed a page where the image goes from an 1889 photograph of Aurora, courtesy of the Nevada State Museum, to a 2004 version, courtesy of me.

For a good idea of the plat of the Aurora town site, take a look at this nifty map (731K- in djvu format) provided by the wonderful people at the Mary B. Ansari Map Library, University of Nevada, Reno.

Post Office: 2/27/1866 - 5/14/1897, 1/24/1906-2/10/1911, 2/10/1911-5/31/1919
Newspaper: Esmeralda Star, Aurora Weekly Times, Esmeralda Union, Esmeralda Herald, Aurora Star, Aurora Borealis

What is

There's nothing much left of Aurora unless you know where to look. The two cemeteries are some of the best in the west, and have some very unique headstones. There are the remains of three or for buildings still standing, while the fallen remains of many more lay hidden in the tall sagebrush.