Eureka Self Guiding Tour
The Eureka, Nevada Historical Society designated
a number of sites in the town and surrounding area to be included in a self guiding
tour. Eureka is not a ghost town. These sites
are privately owned and most are still in use. Please do not
trespass on or in any land or building that is not open for
business. Please treat all sites with respect. This tour is
undertaken at your own risk. Some old buildings are unsafe. No
attempt has been made to change Eureka. It is absolutely authentic
as it stands. To change this town would be to destroy a very rare
and wonderful piece of Nevada's heritage. We would like to keep
Eureka just as it is, and with your help, we can. Note the numbers on the buildings and sites correspond to the
following historical descriptions. Current ownership and occupancy
changes without notice, so inquire locally for details. |
|
Many of the historic buildings can be seen
in this photo from the 1800s. |
 #1
Sentinel Museum
This building was built in 1879 to replace the Eureka Sentinel Newspaper
office after one of the town fires destroyed all but the fireproof portion
of the newspaper office. After the fire the building remained so
intensely hot that wet blankets were thrown over the backs of the printers
so that they could get the next edition of the newspaper out on
schedule. The Eureka Sentinel Newspaper published its first
newspaper in 1870 and continued publication here until 1960. The
museum houses the original equipment and presses of the Eureka Sentinel
Newspaper which are located in the back room. Many of the posters on
the walls date back to the 1880s. The front portion of the museum
exhibits a variety of interesting historical displays and memorabilia from
Eureka's yesteryears. |
 #2
Colonnade Hotel
This building was erected in 1880 by the Italian Benevolent Society who
held meetings here. By 1890 and into the 1930s the building was
vacant. In the 1940s the Colonnade was again open for business as a
boarding house. Today it is a rooming house. |
 #3
Sadler House
(private residence)
This house was built by Reinhold Sadler, a well-known businessman,
contract teamster and rancher who was Nevada Governor from
1896-1902. Mr. Sadler owned and operated a general merchandise store
on main street next to the present day Louie's Lounge. Mr. Sadler
had a tunnel built from the basement of his home to his place of business so that he didn't have to go out into the weather while going to work. |
 #4
Eureka High School This building was completed in March, 1924
and financed by a school tax raising $3000. The building housed the
1-12 grade students until a new school was built on Vandal Way in
1969. Elementary students continued to attend school here until 1995
when a new grade school was built. |
 #5
Stone and Brick Building This building has a "Castorlube Motor
Oil" sign painted on the north side. This building was
originally a two story structure that was built in 1879 by an Italian
company under the management of Celso Tatti. It served as a saloon.
It was in Tatti's saloon that approximately 500 Italian carbonari (charcoal
burners) formed the Eureka Coalburners Protective Association in July,
1879. Because many of the Italian charcoal burners did not speak English,
they were often cheated in the sale of charcoal to the refineries.
After forming their association, the desperate burners stopped the supply
of charcoal, asking for a two cent increase to a total of 30 cents a
bushel. Several teamsters were threatened, the refineries threatened
to shut down and burners were arrested, but little charcoal was
loaded. An ugly confrontation occurred on August 19, 1879, at Fish
Creek when striking charcoal burners and a local posse exchanged words,
then gun shots. Six burners were killed and ten more were
wounded. The coroner's inquest excused the posse as acting "in
the line of duty." The charcoal burners realized that the
companies had won and they had no choice but to go back to work. The
companies then lowered the price of charcoal to 26 cents a bushel. |
 #6
Tognini and Company Building
This building was built in 1877 by Tognini and Company. The Swiss-Italian
Company consisted of Joseph Tognini, Ferdinando Bonetti, and Gabiriel
Zonali. The Eureka Billiard Hall Saloon was operated here.
Like many other companies in Eureka a t the time, Tognini and Company was
one of the largest companies involved in charcoal production. The
building attached to the north was built in 1924 by John Biale. The
front bricks are the same as those used in the construction of the
school. Other portions contain bricks salvaged from the Pinto Mill
that was located several miles southeast of town. This building is
also the site of the first business establishment in Eureka known as the
Pioneer Restaurant which consisted only of a canvas tent. The star
plates and rods on the sides of the building hold the walls
together. The sign "Trupak Palora Peaches, a distinct new
variety," was painted on the wall around 1930. |
 #7
Louie's Lounge
Two Jewish dry goods merchants erected this stone building in
1874. Cesare Rossetti acquired the building in 1874 and still owned
it in 1886 when books were sold in the main floor and lodgings could be
had upstairs. If you look at the back of the building, you can still
see the original blocks formed from local volcanic rock. For many
years it was operated as a bar with a dance hall in the back. |
 #8
Alpine Lodge
A two story frame building stood here in the 1880s. The original
building housed a dry goods or clothing store downstairs and the San
Francisco Lodging House upstairs. Around 1880 William Zadow moved
his butcher shop from a building next to the Eureka Opera House to this
location. He operated the butcher shop for over twenty years.
In 1941 the hotel was known as the Lincoln Hotel. In 1969 the hotel
was the site of an unsolved local murder. After that it was sold and
became the Alpine Lodge and later the Lucky Stiff Bar. Today it
stand empty and condemned. |
 #9 Eureka Cafe
This establishment was really two buildings. In 1873, the northern
half of the building was erected. It was built from local quarried
volcanic tuff. The constructor, William H Clark, ran a general
merchandise and hardware store downstairs and upstairs provided offices
for doctors, dentists, and lawyers. A Nevada legislator and
attorney, Thomas Wren had offices here. In 1907 the building was
converted to the Zadow Hotel and the southern portion of the building
erected. When the Lincoln Highway (now Highway 50) opened in
1915-16, the price of a hotel room was $2.50 a day under the American
Plan. In 1920 Ed Herrera acquired the property and changed the name
to the Eureka Hotel. Pete Laborde, former owner of the Nevada Club,
owned this hotel in the 1930s. Around 1942 the Eureka Cafe began
serving American and Chinese food and continues to do so today. |
 #10 This building was also built of
local volcanic tuff. It was built prior to 1873 by Solomon Ashim and
his brother. In the 1930s and early 1940s it served as a county restaurant.
It is presently a bar and restaurant. |
#11 Eureka County
 Courthouse
Construction of this two-story brick structure began in 1879 and was completed
in 1880. It was added to an already existing jail. The expense
to build the main building was approximately $55000 and roughly $15000 for
the jail, vault, and fixtures. When it was completed, it was the finest courthouse
in the state of Nevada outside Virginia City. The judge's bench in
the large upstairs courtroom is made of imported Spanish Cedar. The
large iron shutters adjacent to the windows and doors of the courthouse
(and other buildings of the town) protected the windows from fires and
other damages. The two large bells in front of the courthouse were
rung as fire alarms by two of Eureka's several volunteer fire
companies. Each bell was identified by its tone. The
courthouse is still in use today and exhibits the turn-of-the-century
style. |
 #12 The Annex
This red brick building with iron columns was built in 1880 and used
as a wholesale liquor store. During the 1890s it was a stationery
store and post office. The Farmers and Merchants Bank was located
here in the 1930s. The Farmers and Merchants Bank was one of the few
banks in the country that did not close down during the Bank Holiday of
the 1930s. Later in the 1930s the bank moved down and across the
street to the present location. |
 #13 Eureka Senior Center
The older portion of this building was erected in the summer of
1880. The iron doors and columns were cast by the local Eureka
Foundry Company. It has housed many businesses over the years
including a grocery store, variety store, and mortuary. The new
extension to the building occupies the area where the two story Turner
House/Bureau Hotel once stood in the 1870s and early 1880s. |
 #14 Rebaleati Garage
On this site stood a hotel and boarding house that was owned and
operated by the Rebaleati Family until it burned down in the early
1900s. The current building was built prior to 1917. From
about 1917 to 1941, the site was the Ford Dealership and Garage. Mr.
Rebaleati sold and serviced Model Ts and Model As. The dirt floor
was finally upgraded in the early 1930s. The southern portion of the
building was built around 1945 to house generators that provided the first
electricity to the town of Eureka. Electricity was produced in this
building for the town from 1945-1972. The property still remains in
the Rebaleati family. |
 #15
San Francisco Brewery
This building was the San Francisco Brewery in the mid-1870s.
Beer was bottled in the back and there was a saloon in the front
portion. The original wood structure burned down in the fire of
August, 1880. Later that year a brick structure was built on the
site by H. Mau and Company. After 1900 Frank Brossemer purchased the
building and ran a saloon in front and bottled soda pop in the back.
The Eureka Post Office was located here from 1941 until it moved to the
present location in 1982.
|
 #16 Eureka Post Office
This building was built after the August 17, 1880 fire which started
in the store next door. The Eureka Market, a butcher shop, was here
in the 1880s. If you step inside you can see the old pressed tin
ceiling with floral and bird designs. Remodeled in 1982 into a post
office. |
#17
Eureka Opera House
This impressive building was built on the foundations of the Odd Fellows
Hall in late 1880 after the original structure had been destroyed in the
August 1880 fire. The building was started in 1879 as a union labor
hall. the union, going on strike, ran out of funds and sold the
uncompleted building. An early account of the new facility stated
that "The new opera
 house was thoroughly fire-proof, with two foot
thick masonry walls, a brick and iron front, and a slate roof."
The floor was built to be shock absorbing, so that you could dance all
night. Eureka was on the main tour circuit for opera and theater performances
and many famous personalities performed here during the hey-day of
Eureka. The opera house served as a community auditorium showing
anything of interest including boxing, speeches, plays, graduations, and
dances. The Nob Hill Fire Company sponsored masquerade balls held
here ever New Year's Eve. Silent movies were brought to
Eureka in 19113 and the name of the opera house changed to the Eureka
Theater. "Talkies" were shown here in later years with the
last movie being shown in 1958. In December 1923, a fire that
was caused by a misplaced lantern destroyed the curtain that was
originally hand-painted in Italy. The curtain was then replaced with
a new one painted in Minneapolis in 1924. This building stood idle
for many years until Eureka County acquired it and restored it in
1991. After being reopened on October 5, 1993, the Eureka Opera
House received the 1994 National Preservation Honor Award. Once
again the Eureka Opera House can boast of famous entertainers performing
here. It is also used as a cultural and arts center, a community auditorium
and a full service convention center. |
 #18
Jackson House
This brick building was built in 1877 as the famous Jackson
House. The building was gutted in the 1880 fire, but was rebuilt and
operated until the 1890s. It was advertised as the only fire-proof
hotel in Nevada. In 1907 it became the Brown Hotel and operated
under that name for many years. In 1981 it was restored as a
historical building and once again called the Jackson House. It
operates as a bar, restaurant and hotel. |
 #19
Ryland Building (private residence)
This is the second building to occupy this spot. The first was
destroyed by the August, 1880 fire. The building has been used
as offices, apartments and a restaurant. It has been restored and is
now a private home. |
 #20
Crew Car 29
This crew car is the only piece of rolling stock in Eureka County left
from the Eureka & Palisade Railroad. The once thriving railroad
began in 1875 when Eureka businessmen formed a railroad company and sold
stock to wealthy San Francisco bankers who made their fortune from the
Comstock mines in Virginia City. The narrow gauge railroad was built
to haul refined ore from the Eureka smelters and several other mining
camps, some eighty miles to Palisade, where it connected with the main
line of the transcontinental Central Pacific Railroad. This crew car
was used as sleeping quarters for the men working on the rail line. |
 #21
Foley-Rickard-Johnson-Remington Building This was the site of
Eureka's first adobe house built by Abe Bateman. In 1879 M. D. Foley
and Richard Rickard built this brick structure which was originally a
two-story building. The cost when completed was approximately
$28,000. The Remington, Johnson and Company hardware store was
located in the northern portion of the present building in the 1880s and
1890s. A book store and stationery store, saloon, assay office, and
wells Fargo Express Office used other portions of the first floor during
this period. The upstairs was the Masonic and Odd Fellow's
Hall. During the 1920s groceries were sold in the old Remington
Store. The original iron columns remain today. The second
story of the building was demolished in 1983. |
 #22
Tommy Knocker
This is the site of one of Eureka's first banks, the Paxton and
Company Bank. The original building was destroyed in the fire of
1879 and the only thing left standing was the bank vault. A new bank
was built around the vault. The bank issued its own currency with
its name on the bills. Around 1890, a Western Union Telegraph Office
was added to the bank. By the year 1941, a store occupied this
building and in later years it was operated as the Gold Bar. It is
now awaiting restoration by a new owner. |
 #23
Eureka Services
The original building on this site was built in the late 1870s and
operated as a hardware business until the fires of 1879. The present
building was completed in September of 1879. At that time, it became
a clothing store. In the early 1900s the Mau Brothers purchased the
building and sold clothing, shoes, books, and stationery out of the
it. Eureka Services is now a video, gift, and gun store. |
 #24 The
Raine Building
This building was the City Brewery and Soda Works, which supplied the
first beer in Eureka. It has been a barber shop, the Bank Club Bar,
and from about 1945 into the 1960s, it was Bays Fountain. The
building was a movie theater in the 1970s and a ceramic and gift
shop into the 21st century. It is now occupied by mining offices. |
 #25
Owl Club Bar and Steakhouse
Originally this establishment was a two-story structure. The C.
P. Brewery was downstairs and the Palace Saloon upstairs. A one story
structure was built after the 1880 fire. This building has been used
as a bar and cafe for many years. It has now been consolidated with
the Nevada Club buildings below. |
| #26 Nevada Club The southern portion
of this establishment was originally called the Tiger Saloon. It
gained notoriety on separate occasions. Gunfights in the saloon
resulted in the death of two men. After the August, 1880 fire, the saloon
was rebuilt as a two story frame structure in only 13 days. The
saloon and dance hall continued to operate into the 1890s. The
building was again destroyed around the turn of the century. In
1930, the present two story concrete structure was built. The northern
portion of the building was constructed in 1880 or1881 by Joseph Tognini
& Company. The original frame structure was destroyed in fire in
March, 1880. No sooner had the new saloon been rebuilt, when it was
consumed again by the August, 1880 fire. It was then rebuilt as the
present brick structure and incorporated with the Owl Club. |
 #27
Raine's Market
There are actually two old buildings used as Raine's Market. The
southern portion of the building is the one that survived the 1879
fire. It was known as F. J. Schneider's Drugstore and remained so
into the 1900s. This portion of the building has been used as a restaurant,
shoe store, saloon, assay office, and in the 1940s became Kitchen
Brothers' Market.
The northern section was built in 1879 as a
saloon. This building
 also
survived the fire of 1879 and after the fire it was opened as a clothing
store. Through the years this portion of Raine's Market had been a
wholesale liquor warehouse, a saloon, a men's clothing store, a notions
store and from the 1940's to 1978 it was the Eureka Drug and
Fountain. The original pressed tin ceiling can still be seen in this
portion of the building. |
 #28
Nevada State Bank
This was the original site of the first livery stable in Eureka.
A stone building was built here later, but prior to 1873. Housed in
it was what was known as "The Corner! The Largest and Finest Saloon
in the State." Charles Lautenschlager bought the building in
1879 and promptly tore it down. He had just completed a new building
when it was burned down in the fire of April, 1879. He erected the present
store building in October of the same year. A saloon operated in the
front and the Old Corner Chop House was in the rear. Around 1912,
the building housed the Lani and Repetto Saloon and Eureka Brewery.
In the late 1930s, the Farmers and Merchants Bank, founded by Edna Howard
Covert Plummer in July, 1920, was moved to this location. (Edna C.
Plummer held the distinction of being the first woman in the nation to
found a national bank. She was also the first woman district
Attorney in the nation and served in Eureka County in 1918.) The
Farmers and Merchants Bank was the only bank in Nevada to stay open during
the Bank Holiday of 1933. Banks were ordered not to re-open after
the closing of a certain business day. The Farmers and Merchants
Bank simply stayed open 24 hours a day until the holiday ended.
Later this bank became the First National Bank of Nevada, in 1981, the
First Interstate Bank of Nevada, in 1996, Wells Fargo Bank, and today
Nevada State Bank. |
 #29
Masonic Building
The American Exchange Building stood on this corner before the fire of
August, 1880 when it was destroyed. Inside the building were offices
and stores. After the fire, the owner of the property, James Whitton,
built the present brick building. Over the next few years, it
contained a dry good store, jewelry store, barber shop, bath house, tailor
shop and tinsmith shop. In 1907, a portion of the building was used
as the Eureka Post Office and the rest of the building was vacant.
James Whitton also had a fireproof cellar built under the building.
The Masonic Lodge received its charter in 1872 had its first meetings in
the office of Judge J. P. Adams. The Lodge met and shared the
building as a meeting place with the Odd Fellows. Later the Odd
Fellows membership fell so low that they sold the building to the Masons
for $1.00. Today the Masons and Eastern Star organizations still
meet here and this is believed to be the only underground temple in
use in the United States. |
 #30
Rattazzis
This establishment is a combination of two original buildings.
The southern part was Brown and Godfrey's Oyster Saloon, Chop House and
confectionery. It was open 24 hours a day and was the only candy
maker in town. During the remodeling of this building in 1994,
innumerable oyster shells were found. The northern half of the
building was the Knights of Pythias Lodge, a fraternal and benevolent
society founded in 1864. The adjoining buildings now provide a bar
and restaurant. |
 #31 Al's Hardware
This building has been owned by the same family since the 1870s.
It was originally a two-story building but, after the two fires, it was
reduced to one story. It began as the Stone Saloon with a boarding
house upstairs. In 1903, it became the Eureka Cash Store. In
1946, Al Biale took over from his father and started Al's Hardware.
Al Biale operated the hardware business until his retirement. Al's
son Arthur continued the business and also eventually retired. Al's
daughter and son-in-law continued in the same tradition. The
business is now closed, but the building remains in the Biale family. |
 #32 Stone Building
This native stone building has been several things, most notably a
warehouse. Notice the excellent stone work. The blocks were
cut to fit together using a mortar made from local clay. |
 #33 Skillman House
This two-story brick building was known as the Skillman House.
It was the home of Archibald Skillman, founder and publisher of the Eureka
Sentinel Newspaper in 1870. Skillman sold the newspaper in 1944, but
this property still remains in the Skillman family. |
 #34
The Parsonage House
This house known as the Parsonage House was originally built in
186. There have been two major renovations to this house over the
past 100 years of its existence. The latest renovation was completed
in 1986 and it now serves as a bed and breakfast. |
 #35
Old Methodist Church
Now a private residence.
The first two Methodist Churches were destroyed by two of Eureka's famous
fires. The present structure was dedicated in 1881. A
newspaper article on the building states that it had a library, vestibule,
and small sleeping area for visiting clergy. The insides were said
to be richly arrayed with red fern carpeting, stain glass windows, and
seating for 250 people. During the 1920s revivals were held in the
church. In 1982, it was only a shell when it was purchased and
remodeled by private individuals. It is now a bed and breakfast. |
#36 Saint James Episcopal Church
 This
is Eureka's first permanent Church, built in 1872, one year after the
cornerstone was laid. It was built to accommodate the miners who had
come from England. Regular services were held from 1893 until the
church was closed in 1907. The building is made of hand-cut local
volcanic stone and survived the disastrous fires of the 1880s. Today
church services are again held here on a regular basis. |
 #37,38,39,40
Eureka Cemeteries
Five cemeteries are located on the west
side of Eureka in Grave Yard Flat, or as it was known in the 1880s, Death
Valley. The cemeteries can be reached by driving west past the
courthouse up Ruby Hill Avenue. the first one on the south side of
the avenue is the Catholic, |
next, the Masonic. |
Across the road to the north are the County
and City Cemeteries and further north, nestled in the piñon/juniper
trees, is the I. O. O F. Cemetery. |
In the 1870s and 80s, the County Cemetery
was privately owned by C. W. Schwamb, an undertaker who had an office
above the Sentinel Office. It is adjacent to the City |
| Eureka also had Chinese and Jewish
Cemeteries, but there is very little remaining of those grave sites.
Most of the cemeteries are still being used today. Please show
respect for those that have passed on and do not disturb any of the
headstones or gravesites. |
#41 Zadow and Morrison House (private
residence)
This Victorian style house was built
 around 1886 by James Wilson.
Later it was owned by William Zadow, the owner of a butcher shop on main
street and later the Zadow Hotel where the Eureka Cafe is today.
Around 1910, it was purchased by Dan Morrison. The Morrison Family
owned it until the 1970s. In 1976, under new ownership, it was
renovated as a private home. Many homes of this type were burned in
the fires that swept through town, although three of the same design
remain along the crest of the hill. |
 #42 Saint Brendan's Catholic Church
This still-active Catholic Church was erected in 1874 to replace the
original wood structure built in 1871 by Father D. Monteverde. The present
stone structure was built for a cost of $5000 from volcanic rock that came
from the Chandler Quarry above the west side of town.
Eureka's first two-story brick school was located on the south side of the
church. It was built in 1879, but was torn down in the late
1930s. It had be vacated in the early 1920s due to structural
damage. |
#43 Mary Wattle's Home (private
residence)
Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Isles-Wattles was born on April 21, 1845 in Stratton,
England. At the age of five, she sailed to America with her
parents. As a young woman, she married Luther Wattles in
Illinois. In 1903 the family came to Nevada. They purchased a
ranch of 1800 acres with range rights in Nye County, between Eureka and
Tonopah. They successfully operated these holdings for 30 years,
then sold the property, and moved to Eureka. In 1920, they took
possession of 320 acres in Italian Creek, 4 miles northeast of
Eureka. It is believed that this brick home was built prior to 1883
by Claude Ford, owner of the Eureka Livestock Company. In 1927, Mrs.
Wattles purchased the seven-room brick dwelling. Ten years later,
she bought an eight room home in Los Angeles, California where she spent
several of her winters. At the time of her death in March, 1952, Mrs.
Wattles was 106 years old and the oldest living Nevada Resident.
After five generation of family ownership, this property changed hands in
1995. |
 #44 Presbyterian Church
This church was organized and built in 1873. At the turn of the
century, the Presbyterian congregation had dwindled and the Methodist
Church occupied the building. Later it again served the Presbyterian
Church. At the present time it is owned by the Diamond Valley
Baptist Church and is called the Eureka Bible Church. The bell from
the church is now on the south side of the Sentinel Museum building. |
 #45 General Store
This brick building was built in 1882 as the Ottawa Hotel to replace
an earlier frame structure. It still serves as grocery store and gas
station. |
 #46 Slag
Sixteen smelters refined the ores of the mining district. The
smoke was so heavy at times, that the black clouds floated over town,
leaving soot and dirt everywhere and poisoning the air. The name
"Pittsburgh of the West" grew out of this somber aspect of early
Eureka. This is the site of the Richmond Consolidated Smelter.
Small portions of the smelter, slag heaps, and the ditch for the smoke
stack can still be seen on the east side of Highway 50. The first
furnace on this site was built in 1871 to process ore from the Richmond
Mine. Later that year, the furnace and mine were purchased by the
Richmond Consolidated Mining Company and two other furnaces were built
along with three hydrocycle or water jacket hydrocycle furnaces to replace
the old smelter operation. In 1890, the Richmond Smelter stopped
operations and around the turn of the century was dismantled. |
 #47
Tannehill Log Cabin This log cabin is believed to have been the
first house built in Eureka around 1865. In later years it served as
Eureka's first store. It is built of massive pine logs from the
pinion pine trees that then grew at higher elevations around Eureka.
The ceiling is composed of smaller pinion and juniper logs. It has
been modified slightly since its original construction. |
| All photos on this page courtesy
of Lee
Raine © 2007 |
