Helene
Though it never achieved the prominence of its neighbor Delamar, Helene was actually an earlier camp in what would become the prolific Ferguson District. Gold was first discovered by Pahranagat Valley farmers in 1890, but it took two years before the district was established. Once word of the discoveries reached Pioche, prospectors flocked to the district. Soon after the Magnolia Mine was located in March 1892 the new camp of Helene emerged below, named for the wife of Hartwig A. Cohen, an early investor in the district. It didn't take long for Helene to evolve from a tent camp into a full fledged town with 150 residents, frame buildings, a post office and the weekly Ferguson Lode newspaper. As nearby Delamar came into the spotlight, however, Helene was eclipsed and by the end of 1894 lost its post office to the newer, larger population center. It held on for probably another decade as a bedroom community to the larger town, and a neat row of stone ruins marks the site.
