Ely, NV and Kennecott Copper

Ely, Nevada was first established in the mid-to-late 1800s as a post office and stage coach stop; it was not until the turn of the century, however, that Ely gained greater notice, thanks to a boom in copper.

Railroads and Copper

Initially a stagecoach station and post office established in the 1870s, Ely's population finally reached 200 after it was named county seat of White Pine County in 1887. However, it was Ely's copper deposits that truly put it on the map in the early part of the 20th century.

In the fall of 1906, the Nevada Northern Railway was completed, allowing the transportation of copper, gold, and silver mined throughout eastern Nevada. Just two years later, a smelter was installed at McGill, just north of Ely, by Nevada Consolidated Copper Company. As a result, production leapt from $2000 to more than $2 million in just one year, Production continued to climb rapidly, reaching $26.5 million by 1917.

Mining: Kennecott Copper

In 1915, Kennecott Copper Company began acquiring copper mining companies in Ely. By 1958, Kennecott dominated regional mining and the area economy. Nearby cities of Ruth and McGill were well-involved in the Ely copper industry, as the site of copper mines (Ruth) and smelter (McGill).