The Beginning of the End - An Economic Impact Analysis on Late 19th-Century Charcoal Production in the Roberts Mountains of Eureka County, Nevada

Summary

During the late 19th-century, mining companies in Eureka, Nevada depended on a steady flow of charcoal to fuel their smelters. This charcoal was produced in the hills and mountain ranges surrounding Eureka by teams of woodcutters, laborers, and charcoal burners also referred to as the Carbonari. As the demand for fuel persisted, land around Eureka was deforested and charcoal production expanded into areas well-away from the smelters. By the mid-1880s the demand for charcoal began decreasing as a result of falling mineral production at Eureka mines and increased costs of transporting fuel greater and greater distances. In 2016, Logan Simpson, Inc. documented a newly identified network of charcoal production sites in the Roberts Mountains which date to the waning years of Eureka’s charcoal industry. This paper describes these resources and builds upon other production areas, while attempting to measure economic impacts on the local charcoal industry during a post-boom period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions) 2018   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

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PaperId(s): 555