Cherry Creek, Nevada

File:CherryCreek64.jpg

The community of Cherry Creek is located in the northern part of the long Steptoe Valley, north of the modern communities of McGill and Ely. Immediately to the west is the Cherry Creek Range, while to the east is U.S. Route 93 and the Schell Creek Range. Just to the south, in Egan Canyon, the Pony Express and subsequent stage lines made their way through the mountains of central Nevada in the 1860s.

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Cherry Creek has existed as a community for over 140 years.

In the early 1860s, the area around Cherry Creek was discovered to have substantial mineral deposits of gold and silver. The community was founded on September 21, 1872, when two prospectors from nearby Egan Canyon located the "Tea Cup" claims, rich deposits of silver and gold ore. By spring of 1873, the community had an estimated population of 400.

In 1873, Cherry Creek included a livery stable, a blacksmith shop, a large hotel, several boarding houses, restaurants, and more than twenty saloons. Cherry Creek continued to grow in 1873. Wells Fargo opened a station in Cherry Creek, and the Cherry Creek post office also opened for business in 1873. However, in early 1874, most of the original mineral claims in the area began to play out. As a result, Cherry Creek's economy and population began a decline, and by 1875, although limited production continued, most of the local mills and mines had closed. For 1875–1880, Cherry Creek remained a small mining community, sustaining a much smaller population and workforce than it had during the prosperous years of 1872–1874.

Cherry Creek's economy and population rapidly expanded once more in 1880, when additional deposits of gold and silver were discovered. Over the next two years, Cherry Creek experienced its biggest boom. By the end of 1881, a single one of the larger mines locally employed over 200 men. Cherry Creek became the largest voting precinct in White Pine County. By 1882, the community was at its peak, with both its economy and population exceeding their previous highs during the boom of 1873–1874. During 1882, the community was estimated to have a population of 7,800, of which 6,000 were estimated to be transient mine workers. During this time, 28 saloons were located in Cherry Creek. There were also a substantial variety of stores and local businesses, most catering to local mine workers. A stagecoach route to Toano, in Elko County, was created and in service during this time. By the end of 1882, one local mine had produced more than one million dollars in gold bullion, a huge amount for the time. The boom of 1880–1883 was the most economically prosperous period in Cherry Creek's history.

In 1883, a financial crash devastated the local economy. Many mines closed, and the community entered a rapid decline. In 1888, a fire destroyed a substantial portion of the town's business district. By the census of 1890, the population had fallen to 350. Cherry Creek experienced large, damaging fires in 1901 and 1904. Many of the original buildings in the community were burnt down and had to be rebuilt. In 1905, Cherry Creek's economy experienced a modest revival when a number of local mines reopened. Cherry Creek remained the home of several hundred people, and the base of substantial mining activity, until the late 1940s.

File:CherryCreek73.jpg

Since the 1940s, the community has slowly declined in size, although mine leaseholders have always been active in the district, and occasional mining activity has taken place. Total production for the district since 1872 has been estimated at 20 million dollars. Throughout the 2000s, the "Barrel Saloon" a local business, remained open; however, it closed in July 2010. Many historic structures, including a museum, an early one-room schoolhouse, and the Cherry Creek Barrel Saloon, still stand among more modern buildings.

Like most of the Great Basin, Cherry Creek experiences a semi-arid climate with cold winters and warm to hot summers. Winters are long and tend to be both dry and cold. Daytime highs are usually only a few degrees above freezing, and nighttime temperatures are bitterly cold. Summer days can be hot, but Cherry Creek's low humidity and high altitude temper the effects of the heat. Nights are cool, even in the summer. At Cherry Creek's high elevation, the thin, dry air cools quickly after sunset.

{{Weather box

|location = Cherry Creek, Nevada (Elevation 6,130ft)

|single line = Y

|collapsed = yes

|Jan record high F = 56

|Feb record high F = 67

|Mar record high F = 78

|Apr record high F = 83

|May record high F = 95

|Jun record high F = 98

|Jul record high F = 104

|Aug record high F = 97

|Sep record high F = 94

|Oct record high F = 83

|Nov record high F = 73

|Dec record high F = 64

|year record high F = 104

|Jan high F = 38.4

|Feb high F = 43.3

|Mar high F = 52.3

|Apr high F = 59.0

|May high F = 70.3

|Jun high F = 81.2

|Jul high F = 91.9

|Aug high F = 88.2

|Sep high F = 77.8

|Oct high F = 63.8

|Nov high F = 50.8

|Dec high F = 38.8

|year high F = 63.0

|Jan low F = 17.6

|Feb low F = 22.9

|Mar low F = 27.1

|Apr low F = 31.3

|May low F = 39.4

|Jun low F = 48.1

|Jul low F = 57.6

|Aug low F = 54.1

|Sep low F = 44.7

|Oct low F = 34.7

|Nov low F = 26.3

|Dec low F = 18.9

|year low F = 35.2

|Jan record low F = −12

|Feb record low F = −3

|Mar record low F = 9

|Apr record low F = 12

|May record low F = 19

|Jun record low F = 31

|Jul record low F = 47

|Aug record low F = 34

|Sep record low F = 26

|Oct record low F = 19

|Nov record low F = −4

|Dec record low F = −9

|year record low F = −12

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 0.80

|Feb precipitation inch = 0.69

|Mar precipitation inch = 0.63

|Apr precipitation inch = 1.19

|May precipitation inch = 0.67

|Jun precipitation inch = 0.68

|Jul precipitation inch = 0.56

|Aug precipitation inch = 0.36

|Sep precipitation inch = 0.69

|Oct precipitation inch = 0.75

|Nov precipitation inch = 0.48

|Dec precipitation inch = 0.83

|year precipitation inch = 8.32

|source 1 = The Western Regional Climate Center{{cite web

| url =http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?nv1684| title =Seasonal Temperature and Precipitation Information | accessdate =April 7, 2013 | publisher =Western Regional Climate Center | language = }}

|date=April 2013

}}

File:2014-08-09 09 34 30 Panorama of Cherry Creek, Nevada from White Pine County Route 21 just to the west, looking east, with former Nevada State Route 489 (Cherry Creek Road)-cropped.jpg

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{{reflist}}

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• [http://www.greatbasinheritage.org/ GreatBasinHeritage.org]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060515050641/http://whitepinecountygenhelp.accessgenealogy.com/Cherry_Creek.html History of White Pine County]
• [http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nv/cherrycreek.htm GhostTowns.com]
• [http://www.elkorose.com/cherrycreek_historical.html Historical photos]

{{White Pine County, Nevada}}

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Category:Unincorporated communities in Nevada

Category:Unincorporated communities in White Pine County, Nevada

Category:Populated places established in 1873

Category:Census county divisions

Category:Great Basin National Heritage Area