Potosí

Potosí is where Nevada mining began. In 1856, Mormon missionaries sent by Brigham Young to find lead opened a mine in the Spring Mountains, making this perhaps the oldest lode mine in the state. Nathaniel Jones named it for the Potosí district of Wisconsin where he had lived as a boy. The lead proved too brittle to work, and the mine was abandoned when the Mormons left their Las Vegas mission. Later operators came for silver, and after 1913 the Empire Zinc Company made Potosí the largest zinc producer in Nevada—its history older than the state itself.

What the plaque says

The desire of local Mormon settlers for economic self-sufficiency led to mining by missionaries for lead at Potosí. In 1858, Nathaniel V. Jones was sent to recover ore from the “mountain of lead” 30 miles southwest of the mission at Las Vegas Springs. About 9,000 lbs. were recovered before smelting difficulties forced the remote mine to be abandoned in 1857. Potosi became the first abandoned mine in Nevada. In 1861, California mining interests reopened the mine, and a smelter and rock cabins for 100 miners made up the camp of Potosi. Even more extensive operations resulted after the transcontinental Salt Lake and San Pedro R.R. (now the union pacific) was built through the county in 1905. During World War I, Potosi was an important source of zinc.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Spring Mountain Ranch State Park — 5.0 mi
  A spring-fed green oasis under the red Wilson Cliffs — and a roll call of colorful owners
• Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area — 9.8 mi
  The Mojave wilderness that begins where Las Vegas ends — striped sandstone cliffs and a 13-mile scenic loop
• Las Vegas Strip — 19 mi
  Four and a quarter miles of engineered spectacle — the most famous street in America (and it isn't in Las Vegas)
• Mount Charleston & the Spring Mountains — 19 mi
  A nearly 12,000-foot sky island 35 miles from the Strip — alpine forest above the Mojave

More markers nearby

• The Old Spanish Trail 1829-1850 — 1.7 mi
• Old Spanish Trail (Mountain Springs Pass) — 2.1 mi
• The Old Spanish Trail 1829-1850 — 5.4 mi
• The Last Spike — 16 mi