Take it easy
  Lodi (aka Marble)
MAP

38.994167, -117.878333

VISITED 13 December 2003
Our Dinner: Hamburgers at Middlegate!
DIRECTIONS From Fallon, Highway 50E from Fallon 47 miles to Middlegate and the junction of Highway 361; Turn S on SR361 for 17.1 miles, turn left (at sign) on local dirt road for 12.3 miles; right on local dirt road for 4.7 miles; right on local dirt road for 2.1 miles.
WHAT WAS

Thompson & West's History of Nevada (1881) mentions Lodi:

In 1878 the town contained a population of 100, and boasted a store, blacksmith shop, boarding-house, saloon, a ten-ton smelting furnace, and other indications of business life. It has since been abandoned, however, and there are only six miners in the district.

The big mine here was the Illinois mine. As stated. things kind of petered out around 1880, only to start up again in 1905.

Lodivale

At that time it was renamed Marble, according to Paher. Post Office dates for Marble and Lodivale clearly overlap, indicating they were two distinct places.

Interestingly, the USGS Feature Name Query Form lists the following variants for Lodi: Bob, Lodi Valley, Lodival, Lodivale, and Lodiville. It doesn't list Marble, but when Marble is queried it returns the exact same location. Bob was apparently a small camp east of the Illinois mine. Some maps show Marble and Lodivale as separate camps, with Lodivale situated on the road. This is backed up by the Application for a Post Office for Lodivale, which says the closest post office is the one at Marble, 2 1/4 miles west of it. So, what we seem to have here is three camps-- Marble, aka Lodi; Bob; and Lodivale. In 1908 Bob claims they are the only town within thirty-five miles of the mine- yet the Marble Post Office ran from 1906 to 1917. So are Marble and Bob the same place? Nevada Post Offices does not have a listing for Bob. Adding to the confusion is that when someone is talking about "Lodi " they could be referring to the town or the district. Some news articles refer to "Bob" being "near Lodi." But we can't always trust the newspaper, and we certainly can't trust townsite promoters.

Bob

Paher talks about platting the town sites of Bob at the Illinois Mine, and Lodi at the locations of Lodi Tanks nearby, but from the descriptions it seems that Lodivale was the one established near Lodi Tanks, and Lodi and Marble were the same camp. In fact, on the October 4, 1905 application for a post office, the name "Lodi" was crossed out and "Marble" written in.

Come on guys, pick a name, willya? Even back then, it seems they couldn't make up their minds.

Among the matters passed upon by the board of county commissioners at their recent session, were the approval of the plats of the townsite of Lodi-Marble, situated in Lodi valley, and James town, which is situated near Gold Crater.
-Tonopah Daily Bonanza, April 10, 1908


Then we had to add "Bob" into the mix.


By December a townsite named "Bob" had grown up a short distance east of the mine. Plans were made to move the post office to the new town, and the Rawhide Press-Times announced that this had been accomplished by December 18, 1908. It also announced that water stations had been established at intervals of six to eight miles along the road to Luning. By April of 1909 there was a good hotel, several restaurants, and a general store at Bob. It is said that there were as many as seven saloons in Lodi Valley and a thriving red-light district near the camp.
-Gabbs Valley, Nevada, Ruth Danner


Bob    Bob    Bob    Bob
Lots in the New Town of
BOB
Will be placed on sale at the office of the Townsite Co. at
BOB NYE COUNTY, NEVADA
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15th, '08
WHERE IS BOB?
BOB is the new town at the Lodi mines, in the Northwest corner of Nye County, 45 miles from Luning.
Advantages of Bob
Bob is situated in the Center of a highly Mineralized Country
The Lodi Mines Company is building a smelter of 100 tons daily capacity at the town, and has $2,000,000 worth of ore developed in its mines. This smelter will treat custom ores from the surrounding camps. The Lodi Mines Company and the Bob Townsite Company are laying a pipe line from Marble Canyon which will supply pure water for the town at a reasonable cost. The pipe line will be completed within thirty days. The Lodi Mines Company has a monthly payroll of $6,000, which will be doubled within a month and this money will be spent at Bob, which is the only town within thirty-five miles of the mine and smelter. All of the material for the smelter is on the ground and the construction work is under the direction of E. J.. Rogers, who built the Omaha and Grant smelter at Denver. The plant will be completed within three months and before the end of the year a second 100-ton furnace is to be installed. The Lodi Mines Company will lease a portion of its estate and treat leasers ore at the smelter. The black sands of the Ione placers and ores from the Downeyville mines will be treated at Lodi, as well as the output from a number of other properties.
Town Lots in Bob will Advance In Price Because
BOB WILL HAVE THE BUSINESS
Don't Forget The Place and Time
ADDRESS ALL MAIL TO THE
BOB TOWNSITE COMPANY - LUNING, NEVADA
Bob    Bob    Bob    Bob
-Tonapah Daily Bonanza, December 13, 1908


The map accompanying the above article shows the location of the metropolis of Bob, and shows "Old Lodi" to the north and slightly to the west. Also, when Lodivale applied to be a post office in 1909, there was no mention of the existence of "Bob" anywhere on their application, although it did mention Marble. Was "Bob" and "Marble" the same place? Why would the article above not mention Marble? Were they just trying to change the name? It's all very interesting.

Also, the General Land Office map of the Mammoth Mining District from 1883 already shows a pipeline going from the mouth of Marble Falls Canyon heading west towards the mines, so is the above article referring to another, newer pipe line? OR just tapping into the existing one? Well, the next article says it's four miles long, so it looks like another one.

LODI MINES IN NYE COUNTY MAKING GOOD
Mammoth Ore Bodies Ready for the Big Smelter Now Being Built.
(Special to the Bonanza.) BOB (Nev.) March 9.—A mammoth shoot of rich ore has recently been developed in the Illinois mine of the Lodi Mines company, which will soon rank with the big deposits of high grade that made Eureka and Pioche famous in the old days—mines that have produced from $50,-000,000 to $70,000,000 each. On the seventh level the rich fissure known as the Welsh vein, has been developed for a distance of 130 feet and three lenses of high class ore have been disclosed for the entire length of the stope. During the past few days these lenses have been making together, finally uniting, at each end of the stope into the gigantic bodies of high grade which breaks an average of $360 per ton.
SMELTING PLANT IS BUILDING. A 100-ton water jacket furnace of the latest type was purchased from the Colorado Iron works and shipped to Luning, the shipping point of the mine. Here the machinery has lain, awaiting the completion of a water system which required the laying of a four-mile pipe line. That work completed, construction of the smelter was commenced and the work will he finished within sixty days. A large force of men is employed under ground working two shifts in the development of the property, and work has commenced on a new compartment shaft, through which ore will be hoisted for the smelter. The furnaces are but a short distance from the mine, and will be connected with the shaft by means of a tramway. It is the intention of the company to install a secm-ond furnace before the close of the year, and when conditions justify the plant will again be increased to a daily capacity of 300 tons. The workings on the Illinois claim, which have given to the mine its lom-cal name, have developed but one of half a dozen rich ore shoots which outcrop on the surface. Besides exm-tensive development work on its own account, the company plans to lease a considerable portion of its ground, which covers more than a mile on the two veins, treating the leasersm' ore at the smelter.
-Tonopah Daily Bonanza, March 10, 1909

Soon, the smelting will begin!

SMELTER AT BOB IS NEARLY COMPLETED
C. F. Stillman is down from Bob, Nye county, on a business mission, and reports good progress there in the construction of a 100-ton smelter, which is being installed by the Lodi Mines company, which owns the Illinois mine. The brick and stone work at the smelter is practically finished, with the exception of the arches and the dust flue, and the 10-horse teams and traction engines are now hauling the machinery from Luning, the railroad point. The management expects to have the furnace ready to blow in early next month. The ores of the Illinois mine are lead carbonates running high in silver and lead, and the mine has been developed to a depth of 800 feet. The company's engineers estimate the value of the ore already developed at $2,000,000. The town of Bob, of which Mr. Stillman is the agent, is growing rapidly. Arrangements have been made to secure water from the pipe line of the Lodi Mines company, from Marble canyon, which has been completed. Aside from providing an abundance of good spring water for domestic purposes, the town has a good fire system. W. G. Adams & Co., of Tonopah, are building a business house and will put in a complete stock of merchandise and mine supplies. Gilbert C. Ross, public instructor for that district, has authorized a school, which will commence April 1. An auto service has been established from Luning, forty-five miles distant and a car can be secured three times a week.
-Goldfield News, March 13, 1909

The smelter ran for a while, but financial difficuties brought the smelting to an end. Everything was sold at a Sheriff's sale in May.

FORCE OF MEN PUT TO WORK AT LODI MINE
Old Property In Nye County Will Be Made to Produce Once More---Located In 1875.
W. 0. Van Arsdale, president of the street railways of Wichita, Kansas: E. D. Richer, president of a bank in Kansas City; J. H. Eaton, a well known mining lawyer of Denver, and S. Lehman. a wheat man of Newton, Kansas, left this morning for their homes. The gentlemen came to Tonopah two days ago after buying in the property of the Lodi Mines company, which was sold at sheriff's sale May 24 at Marble, Nevada. The mines brought $30,000 under the sheriff's hammer the title of the property now in the names of the abve-named gentlemen. A force of 25 or 30 men was put to work immediately under the supervision of H. L. Eaton, a mining man of Denver, and the old property will once more be opened up and put in the producing class. The Lodi mines were located in 1875 and produced for many years. A 1200-foot shaft is on the property and a smelter of 100 tons capacity. A complete water system is installed and everything is at hand to resume operations on a large scale. The estate of the Mines company is in Nye county and the property was sold by Sheriff. Last evening the party of Kansas men were escorted through the underground workings of the Belmont by Ed Malley and they pronounced it the greatest mine they ever saw.
-Tonopah Daily Bonanza, May 27, 1911

THe Kansas boys worked the mine for a while, new companies were formed, but water problems made things diffuclt. By 1919 they were still trying to dewater the shaft. More changing of hands, with leasers working the mine in the 1920's, '30's, and 40's, '50's, and even the 1960's.

OLD LODI MINES SOLD TO JOSEPH
TONOPAH, Jan. 31-- At one time Lodi supported a population of 2000 persons and was considered the most advanced community in Nye County but, as the forest were consumed to keep the furnaces going and the cost of fuel ran too high for profits, the production declined and, when silver went down the camp almost went off the map. The group of mines known as the Lodi, carry a credit of several million dollars produced between 1858 and 1913. The sale includes twenty-nine claims, of which six are patented and the remainder in process of patent. The location is forty miles from Luning and twenty five miles from the Simon Silver Lead mines on the edge of Churchill County.
-Reno Evening Gazette, Saturday, Jan.31, 1920

2,000 persons seems kind of high to me. Maybe 200?

POST OFFICE Marble - March 2, 1906 - December 15, 1917
Lodivale - July 23, 1909 - August 15, 1910
NEWSPAPER None
WHAT IS

We added Marble to the trip as an afterthought and it turned out to be more interesting than Broken hills and Quartz Mountain put together. Clearly, there was a lot of activity here, structures were made of stone and brick and thus have resisted attempts to carry them off, and they tend to weather better than wood. There was a smelter here, and the next to the Illinois Mine headframe there is a boiler which was, at one time, encased in brick. In fact, there is a lot of brick work at the site.

See also Illinois Mine.

 
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