Ely, Nevada
Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Ely (Template:IPAc-en, Template:Respell) is the largest city and county seat of White Pine County, Nevada, United States. Ely was founded as a stagecoach station along the Pony Express and Central Overland Route. In 1906 copper was discovered. Ely's mining boom came later than the other towns along US 50. The railroads connecting the transcontinental railroad to the mines in Austin, Nevada and Eureka, Nevada have long been removed, but the railroad to Ely is preserved as a heritage railway by the Nevada Northern Railway and known as the Ghost Train of Old Ely.<ref name=ely>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,924.
History
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In 1878, Vermont resident J. W. Long came to White Pine County and soon set up a camp known as "Ely", after discovering gold.<ref name=WPNews>Template:Cite news</ref> The name "Ely" has been credited to several possible origins: Long's hometown of Ely, Vermont;<ref name=ElyName/> a New York Congressman with the surname Ely, who sent Long as a representative according to local historians;<ref name=WPNews/> Smith Ely, a Vermont native who financed one of the city's early mineral operations;<ref name=ElyName/><ref name="Ghost Towns Nevada">Template:Cite web</ref> and John Ely, an Illinois native who came to Nevada for mining.<ref name=ElyName>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ely was founded as a stagecoach station along the Pony Express and Central Overland Route. Ely's mining boom came later than the other towns along US 50, with the discovery of copper in 1906. This made Ely a mining town, suffering through the boom-and-bust cycles so common in the West. Originally, Ely was home to a number of copper mining companies, Kennecott Utah Copper being the most famous. With a crash in the copper market in the mid-1970s, Kennecott shut down and copper mining disappeared (temporarily).
With the advent of cyanide heap leaching—a method of extracting gold from what was previously considered very low-grade ore—the next boom was on. Many companies processed the massive piles of "overburden" that had been removed from copper mines, or expanded the existing open-pit mines to extract the gold ore. Gold mines as widespread as the Robinson project near Ruth, and AmSelco's Alligator Ridge mine Template:Convert from Ely, kept the town alive during the 1980s and 1990s, until the recent revival of copper mining.
As Kennecott's smelter was demolished, copper concentrate from the mine is now shipped by rail to Seattle, where it is transported to Japan for smelting. The dramatic increase in demand for copper in 2005 has once again made Ely a copper boom town.
The now-defunct BHP Nevada Railroad ran from the mining district south of Ruth through Ely to the junction with the Union Pacific at Shafter from 1996 to 1999.
Geography and climate
[edit]Ely is Template:Convert east of Eureka, Nevada, Template:Convert west of Delta, Utah, Template:Convert north of Pioche, Nevada, Template:Convert south of Wells, Nevada, and Template:Convert south of West Wendover, Nevada.<ref name="Google Maps">Template:Cite web</ref>
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, all of it land.
Ely experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), and extreme day-night temperature differences year-round. Ely's nighttime temperatures account for it being listed as one of the coldest places in the contiguous United States, with an average of 214.9 nights per year with a minimum temperature of Template:Convert or less, 15.7 nights reaching Template:Convert or less, and 21.7 days when the high does not top freezing. On average, the first and last dates of freezing temperatures are September 8 and June 18, respectively, allowing a growing season of only 79 days. Frosts have occurred in every month, even July. The diurnal temperature range of Ely is so great due to its elevation, dry air, clear skies, and location in a valley, allowing for intense radiative cooling at sunset, even after hot summer days. The monthly mean temperature ranges from Template:Convert in January to Template:Convert in July. High temperatures of Template:Convert or higher occur on an average of 29.2 days annually, but, due to the elevation and aridity, the low very rarely manages to stay at or above Template:Convert. Extreme temperatures ranged from Template:Convert on July 18, 1998 down to Template:Convert on February 6, 1989.
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On average, annual precipitation is Template:Convert, with 72.9 days of measurable precipitation annually. The wettest calendar year is 1897 with Template:Convert and the driest 1974 with Template:Convert, though as much as Template:Convert fell from July 1982 to June 1983. The most precipitation in one month was Template:Convert in April 1900, and the most in 24 hours was Template:Convert on September 26, 1982. Average annual snowfall is Template:Convert, while the most snowfall in one month was Template:Convert in March 1894, and the greatest depth of snow on the ground Template:Convert on January 23, 2010 – though data from neighboring Elko suggest greater depths in the winters of 1889/1890, 1915/1916 and 1931/1932. An average winter will see a maximum snow cover of Template:Convert, though the severe winter of 1951/1952 had fifty days with snow cover over Template:Convert. The most snowfall in a season has been Template:Convert from July 2010 to June 2011 and the least Template:Convert from July 1950 to June 1951.<ref name = NOAA/>
Demographics
[edit]Template:US Census population As of the census of 2000, there were 4,041 people, 1,727 households, and 1,065 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 2,205 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 89.14% White, 0.32% African American, 3.12% Native American, 1.09% Asian, 0.35% Pacific Islander, 3.71% from other races, and 2.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.35% of the population.<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref>
There were 1,727 households, out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.94.<ref name="GR2"/>
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 98 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96 males.<ref name="GR2"/>
The median income for a household in the city was $36,408, and the median income for a family was $42,168. Males had a median income of $36,016 versus $26,597 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,013. About 11% of families and 12% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12% of those under age 18 and 9% of those aged 65 or over.<ref name="GR2"/>
Economy
[edit]Tourism
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Ely is a tourism center, and is home of the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. The railroad museum features the Ghost Train of Old Ely, a working steam-engine passenger train that travels the historic tracks from Ely to the Robinson mining district.
Ely is the nearest city to the proposed site of the Clock of the Long Now on Mount Washington.<ref name=prototype>Template:Cite web</ref>
The historic six-story Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall<ref name=HotelNevada>Template:Cite web</ref> is in downtown Ely. Opened in 1929, it was the tallest building in Nevada until 1931 and was the state's first fire-proof building. It is a popular lodging, dining, gaming, and tourist stop.
The long stretch of road on State Route 318 near Ely is known for the annual Template:Convert Silver State Classic Challenge course, an authorized time-trial Cannonball Run-style race that attracts entries from all over the world.
The Ely Renaissance Society is responsible for more than 20 outdoor murals and sculptures in the downtown area. Artists from all over the world have been commissioned to create images of area history, using different art styles. They also maintain a historical village consisting of a general store and several shotgun houses which display the history of the people that came to the area to work for the railroad and the mine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ely is also home to regional offices of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and Nevada Department of Wildlife.
Outdoors and recreation
[edit]Nearby are Great Basin National Park, Cave Lake State Park, the Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park, and the state parks of Lincoln County, Nevada.
Ely was the host of the 2016 National Speleological Society's annual convention.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Bureau of Land Management, operates an area supporting an elk herd south of town. The Ely Elk Viewing Area offers visitors the opportunity to see an elk community up close.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Mining
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Starting in 1867, iron-rich gossans were mined for precious metals in Lane Valley west of Ely. The Aultman and Saxton Mines were operating by the 1870s. The Chainman Mine was developed by the 1890s and became the most productive in the area. Starting in 1903, copper was mined by the Giroux Consolidated Mining Company and by the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company in 1904. In 1913, Consolidated Copper Mines Company took over Giroux.
In 1936, Fulton and Smith first described magnesite, yet by 1942, when deposits were first studied no magnesite mining existed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1943, Kennecott Copper Corporation took over Nevada Consolidated and by 1958 had consolidated all of the properties in the district.<ref name=James>Template:Cite book</ref>
KGHM International Ltd. owns a large copper mine, formerly owned by Quadra FNX, employing 510 people near Ely.<ref>Quadra FNX Template:Webarchive</ref>
The Joana Mine in Robinson Canyon, 2 miles North of Ely, has exposed a limestone geologic formation named the Joana Limestone after the mine.
Sports
[edit]From 2006 through 2014, the UNLV Rebels football team of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas held training camp in Ely.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Infrastructure
[edit]Air
[edit]Commercial air service was available at Ely Airport until March 31, 2013. In 2011, the Ely Airport was frequently cited as one of the rural airports receiving federal subsidies through the Essential Air Service program.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Roads
[edit]- U.S. Route 6
- U.S. Route 50 (Ely is the eastern end of the portion of U.S. Route 50 known as "The Loneliest Road in America")
- U.S. Route 93
The historic Lincoln Highway, the first road across America, went through Ely, entering town from the north on U.S. Route 93 and departing town to the west on U.S. Route 50. Ely is home to the most isolated charging station in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Education
[edit]Ely has a public library, a branch of the White Pine County Library.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ely is part of the White Pine County School District.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Media
[edit]Ely's local newspaper is The Bristlecone Tribune.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ely has two local radio stations: KDSS (92.7 FM) White Pine Counties ONLY Music station, and KELY (1230 AM). KELY is heard across much of rural Nevada as the flagship of the Nevada Talk Network.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notable people
[edit]- Helen Delich Bentley - born to Yugoslavian parents and graduating from Ely High School, she was appointed by Richard Nixon to lead the Federal Maritime Regulatory Agency in 1969. She served as a representative for Maryland in the US Congress from 1985 to 1995.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Albert J. Carpenter (9 June 1911 - 21 June 1999), officer in the United States Coast Guard from 1933 to 1968<ref name="1967-06 USCG">Template:Citation</ref>
- Patricia Nixon - Former first lady of the United States was born in Ely. Her father was a miner in the area and the family left when Patricia was two years old. Pat and her husband Richard Nixon visited the area during his 1952 vice-presidential campaign.<ref>Ely Public Library</ref>
In popular culture
[edit]- Operation Haylift (1950), by director William A. Berke, is about a historical event that took place in White Pine County.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Lust for Freedom (1987), a film directed by Eric Louzil.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Film-crew/>
- Once Upon a Texas Train (1988), a television film directed by Burt Kennedy.<ref name=Film-crew/>
- Roadside Prophets (1992), an independent film directed by Abbe Wool.<ref name=Film-crew/>
- Guncrazy (1992), a film directed by Tamra Davis and starring Drew Barrymore.<ref name=Film-crew/>
- Rat Race (2001), a film directed by Jerry Zucker, with its climactic scene shot in and around the restored train depot of the railway museum.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- "Laying Low in Eli, Nevada" (2005), a song performed by David Dondero for his South of the South album.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- My Blueberry Nights (2007), a film directed by Wong Kar-wai.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Film-crew>Template:Cite news</ref>
- "Ely Nevada" (2008), a song performed by Ry Cooder for the My Blueberry Nights soundtrack.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Play Dead (2009), a film directed by Jason Wiles.<ref name=Film-crew/>
See also
[edit]References
[edit]External links
[edit]- City of Ely, Nevada
- Ely, Nevada website – White Pine Tourism and Recreation Board
- Official State of Nevada Tourism Site
- Exploring Nevada – Photographs of Ely and Surrounding Area
- Discoverely.com Ely-related website for travelers and visitors – with HD video.
- Road Trip USA page about Ely
Template:White Pine County, Nevada Template:Nevada Template:Nevada county seats