Golconda
The location of Golconda was first noted by emigrants for its hot springs during their westward move to California. In 1868, the Central Pacific Railroad established the station called Golconda (after an ancient Indian city) as a shipping point for the Gold Run district to the south, which developed two years earlier. A small resort was also opened at the hot springs, but the town remained small until near the end of the century.
In 1897, the Glagow & Western Exploration Company began ambitious new development at Adelaide, connected to Golconda by the new narrow gauge Golconda & Adelaide Railroad. The Company also laid out a new Golconda townsite and built a ninety-ton concentrating plant and smelter. The town's population grew to 500, with six hotels and a newspaper. Unfortunately, by June 1900, it was determined that the smelter wasn't properly suited for the ore from Adelaide, and it only operated intermittently before closing in 1905, causing the town to decline. Two years later, the smelter was overhauled, but again proved to be problematic and operations were suspended after a year and a half. In 1911, the smelter was dismantled, followed by the G&A Railroad in 1914.
The last major activity to occur in Golconda began in 1939, when the Nevada Massachusetts Company erected a 100-ton chemical plant. Due to losses during World War II, however, it too was closed and dismantled in 1952. Today Golconda is a sleepy little hamlet of around 75. It has served as a stop along the Victory Highway and continues to do so along Interstate 80, although many of the original buildings are no longer around. The Hot Springs Hotel burned in 1961.
