Delamar, Nevada
former mining town in Nevada
Delamar, Nevada, nicknamed The Widowmaker, is a ghost town in central eastern Nevada, United States along the east side of the Delamar Valley. During its heyday, primarily between 1895 and 1900, it produced $13.5 million in gold.
History
In 1889, prospectors John Ferguson and Joseph Sharp discovered gold around Monkeywrench Wash. A mining camp was established west of the Monkeywrench Mine. It was called Ferguson. In April 1894, Captain Joseph Raphael De Lamar bought most of the important mines in the area and renamed the Ferguson camp as Delamar. In the same year, a newspaper called the Delamar Lode began publication and a post office was opened.
From 1895 to 1900, Delamar was the primary ore producer in Nevada. The new settlement had more than 3000 residents by 1897. The town provided a hospital, an opera house, churches, a school, several businesses and saloons.
The public source identifies “Delamar, Nevada” as former mining town in Nevada. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Delamar, Nevada and former.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Delamar, Nevada”, the useful work is to connect “former mining town in Nevada” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5253095. Authority coordinates are 37.458, -114.770. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1895, 1900, 1889 and 1894.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Delamar, Nevada”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Delamar, Nevada primary sources, Delamar, Nevada archive and Delamar research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Delamar, Nevada”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Delamar, Nevada” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.