San Juan, Nevada

San Juan or Upper Camp is a ghost town that was a mining camp of the Eldorado Mining District. It was located in the upper reach of El Dorado Canyon, just below the present day location of Nelson in Clark County, Nevada.

History

After silver was discovered in 1862 in the upper San Juan creek, a mining camp was established. The silver ore was transported by steamboats of the Colorado River[1][2] It was determined that the small veins could not be mined for a profit, and San Juan was abandoned weeks later. A large stone building are the only remains from the settlement.[3]

References

1. Richard E. Lingenfelter, Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852-1916, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1978; pg. 33,35.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: San Juan, Nevada
3. Paher, Stanley (1970). Nevada ghost towns and mining camps. Howell-North Books. p. 176.