Como, Nevada

Como, Nevada
Ghost Town
Como, Nevada Como, Nevada Location within the state of Nevada
Coordinates: 39°10′21″N 119°28′36″W / 39.17250°N 119.47667°WCoordinates: 39°10′21″N 119°28′36″W / 39.17250°N 119.47667°W
Country	United States
State	Nevada
County	Lyon County
Elevation	6,096 ft (1,858 m)
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)

Como is a ghost town in Lyon County, Nevada, in the United States.

History

Gold was found in the Pine Nut Mountains of western Nevada. In June 1860, was created a mining district in Palmyra.

Como was established in 1863 during the gold rush in Palmyra Mining District. By May 1863, there were six buildings in the growing town,^[1] and the town eventually reached a population of as many as 700 people.^[2] Como's first mill a steam driven contraption called "The Solomon Davis" arrived with much fanfare in 1863. Although several sources have stated that Como was the first seat of Lyon County, nearby Dayton was officially appointed as the first county seat by the Nevada Territorial Legislative Assembly on November 29, 1861.^[3]

New discoveries a short distance away lead to the platting of Como townsite and Palmyra waned. Tunnels were opened and a small mill was built by J.D. Winters. But it proved to be unsuccessful and Winters later drifted to Virginia City and became an employee of the Yellow Jacket Mine.^[4]

The business sector of the camp had all the usual amenities of frontier life. A highlight of town was the Cross Hotel, a first class establishment with a parlor, bar, carpeted rooms, and a meeting hall. Como had a newspaper, "The Como Sentinel", published between April 16, 1864 to July 9, 1864 by T.W. Abraham and H.L. Weston (the latter formerly of the Petaluma, California JOURNAL. After the last issue of the Como SENTINEL, Abraham and Weston went on to publish the Lyon County SENTINEL at nearby Dayton.

Como's post office operated during two periods, opening originally December 30, 1879 and closing January 3, 1881. During a subsequent revival of the old camp, another post office operated between May 29, 1903 to February 28, 1905.^[4] The town's last inhabitant, 63-year-old Judge G. W. Walton, died in a fire that destroyed his cabin on the night of November 22, 1874. Perhaps the most famous resident of the Como region was Chief Truckee, father of chief Winnemucca, befriender of white men, purported savior of emigrant wagon trains and scout for Kit Carson and John C. Fremont.^[2] Today is totally abandoned and rests only some foundations of the old buildings. In addition to abandoned mines and ghost ruins of the old town, the region also contains Indian caves and petroglyphs.^[2]

References

1. Letter from Como, Palmyra District, Nevada Territory. Daily Alta California, Volume 15, Number 4934, 31 August 1863
2. Carl Briggs (August 1971). "Muted mills of Como". Desert Magazine. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
3. Laws of the Territory of Nevada passed at the first regular session of the Legislative Assembly. San Francisco, CA: Valentine & Co. 1862. pp. 289–291. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
4. "Como - Nevada ghost town". ghostttowns.com. Retrieved 2013-07-06.