Dun Glen
(Chafey)
Silver was discovered in the East Range in 1862, and the next year the Sierra district was organized. A camp called Dun Glen (apparently named for settler Angus Dunn) sprang into being and became the commercial center for the district. The first mill, at the Auld Lang Syne Mine, was completed in December 1863, joined by the Tallulah Co.'s 10-stamp Essex Mill below town in 1866. By now Dun Glen had developed into a full-fledged town with hotels, stores, churches, school, and meeting hall.
Twice during the 1860s Dun Glen was home to a small military post: Camp Dun Glen. Established in 1863 and then re-established in March 1865, the Camp provided protection from hostile Indians. Initially intented to protect the town, it also served travelers along the Humboldt River and as far away as the Black Rock Range, Paradise Valley, and the Quinn River. It was occupied until April 1866.
In the 1870s, Dun Glen continued to thrive, and a third mill opened in 1875. By the end of the decade, however, activity languished and the population dropped to only fifty in 1880. Mining gave way to livestock raising, but Dun Glen still declined before its eventual abandonment in the 1890s.
In 1908, E.S. Chafey made a rich gold discovery at the Black Hole Mine (see Tiptop) and sparked a new boom. A new town, this time called Chafey, came into existence at the site of old Dun Glen, and soon had a population of 1000, newspaper, and the usual businesses. In 1911, the name Dun Glen returned, but by 1913 activity slowed and the town again died. Work continued at some mines intermittently into the 1930s, and in recent decades at the mouth of the canyon. Scattered ruins remain.
