Blair
In 1906, the Pittsburg-Silver Peak Gold Mining Company began buying significant mines in the Silver Peak district. As a result, speculators began grabbing up available land at Silver Peak, demanding outrageous prices for mill development. In response, the Pittsburg-Silver Peak Company secretly surveyed and laid out a new townsite three miles to the north, which they called Blair. By the end of the year, the new town had saloons, a two-story hotel, stores, and a population of 700. The weekly Press began publication in November, and the post office opened the same month.
Within the next year, the Company completed a massive 100-stamp mill, linked to the Tonopah & Goldfield Railroad by the 17½ mile Silverpeak Railroad. By 1910, the Company absorbed the Silverpeak-Valcalda Mining Company and enlarged the mill by twenty stamps. Work continued until October 1915, when it was determined that the low-grade ores could no longer be profitable. The mill and railroad subsequently ceased operation and were dismantled, and Blair was soon abandoned. Ruins of a few buildings and the massive mill remain at the site.
