Wonder (Historic Mining Camp -- 1909-1919)
Location: Central Churchill County, Middlegate Area
Directions: Along US 50 at the junction with SR 121 (Dixie Valley Rd)
N39° 17' 13.3" W118° 09' 43.8"
Location: 5
Visibility: 1
Accessibility: 1
Marker type: St (L)
Date Conquered: 8/13/07
Quick Description: A marker remembering a short-lived mining camp.
Signed: Yes -- Signed on both lanes of US 50.
Full Description:
Exact description as reads ...
Located 13 miles to the north is the camp of Wonder, a major mining center in the early years of this century. Thomas J. Stroud and several others made the first locations in March of 1906 and in June of that year, the Wonder Mining District was organized.
Wonder's boom was brief, but spectacular stores and saloons were in operation by mid-summer 1906, and a school was begun in 1907. Bench Creek provided water for the camp and an ice plant and a swimming pool made life somewhat more bearable. During a brief span of years, the Nevada Wonder Mining Company produced some $6,000,000 in silver, gold, copper and zinc.
Wonder's most prominent native daughter is Eva Adams, administrative assistant to Senator Patrick A. McCarran for many years and director of the U.S. Mint during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
The desolate view of Dixie Valley spanning the background. The camp of Wonder lied in the mountains to the right in the b.g. The site can still be reached with a high-clearance vehicle.
-- Conquered, 'Late Removal' --
Date of Disappearance: May 2010
I will admit. This is one of the last markers I would expect to go MIA. I remember seeing this marker on a photo trip in October 2009 only to see it gone when I passed by in June of 2010. What a difference a season makes in Nevada! This story is similar to the disappearance of #198 in Washoe County, #20 in Esmeralda County, and #123 in Douglas County. Until I received such an email in February 2011, my thoughts floated up in the air with little to possible answers on the horizon. The date of #201's disappearance occurred within a two week period when the state of Nevada allowed a meager amount of money to be given to maintaining the markers. Within these two weeks, an estimated thirty three markers suddenly went MIA because NDOT removed the markers to reface them. However, the maintenance was to be done by hired sub-contractors for the state. Here is the email I received dated February 2011 by fellow marker hunter Scott Young. Scott contacted the head of NDOT (Susan) and she replied with this email that she had received from Mara Jones at the SHPO. Susan said it was okay for me to share this information with you. Although this email explains what happened to #198 Steamboat Springs in Washoe County, it may explain what has happened to many of our MIAs throughout the state ...
"Marker #198 was removed by the marker maintenance contractor for repair, a text review and update. There has been a substantial delay in our regular repair process due the text plate supplier going out of business and forgetting to tell anyone and staff constraints. Subsequently, the contractor has found a new supplier and the process is moving ahead. There is a copy of the almost final draft for the new text plate above. We expect it to be in place again within six weeks and will keep you informed as to our progress. We have been in contact with the Steamboat Springs manager during this process.
The e-mails below support a thought/conclusion that I have come to over the last six months; generally the public doesn't seem to know who takes care of the markers and who specifically to call if they have information about markers. Gaelen and I have talked about affixing a sticker to the back of the makers with contact information. We will revisit this again. If you have any thoughts we would like to hear them.
Likewise it seems that we should also somehow indicate when a marker is gone for repair. The joint NDOT/SHPO marker maintenance database that will be up and running in about a year will be a "real time" resource for both agencies, saving us both time, money and energy.
This email may shed much needed light on the case of many of our MIAs. #201 likely suffered the same fate, but the good news is that it may be entirely forever MIA. Once funding and supplies are replenish, we can hope to see this marker back up at its lonely intersection in Dixie Valley. More information will be posted the minute I have it. Until then, if you happen to find out any information in regards to this case, please
let me know
