Carson City, 1882, GG Lyon and the Princess Mine
Carson City, Ormsby, Nevada Cover Date: July 9, 1882 This cover is addressed to Lyon at Candelaria at the Princess Mine. He was known to be the superintendent from January to July (our cover) of 1882. Governor James H Kinkead (Lyon was his personal secretary) was one of the owners. Includes an original photograph of the Princess Mine directly from the family estate of Hugh Shamberger. This photo is bruised and battered (which is probably why it never made it into the Shamberger book on Candelaria), but actually provides a much better perspective. |
The photograph on the right came from the Hugh Shamberger Collection. It was purchased directly from the family. Although not in his book (because of condition issues I imagine) on Cancelaria, it is actually a better overall view of the mine than the one he used.
G. G. Lyon: Using the United States Census and the Reno Evening Gazette we can piece together who Colonel Lyon was.
George G Lyon was born in 1842 in New York. By 1870 he was an early Nevada resident. He lived in Carson City and his occupation was listed as lawyer. The first mention we have of him in the newspaper was on May 17, 1876. He was visiting Reno from Gold Hill. In 1879 Captain G. G. Lyon was the personal secretary to Governor James Kinkead. (It is interesting that most of the time he was listed as Colonel Lyon, but a few times as Captain Lyon. Although many soldiers were named George Lyon in the Civil War, I could not find one that was an officer. I assume he got his rank(s) because, I believe, the personal secretary to the Governor was given the additional job of leading the Nevada National Guard.) We learn that in 1880 he owned stock in the Golden Fleece Gold and Silver Mining Company in the Peavine Mining District (as in Peavine Mountain) just outside of Reno, Nevada. The newspaper reported on August 24, 1881 that Lyon would like to be the next attorney general. (He never even ran for this position.) By 1890 he was living in Seattle, Washington. He was called “a successful real estate man” when he visited friends in Reno. Post Office Dates:
Carson County, Utah Territory Nov 18, 1858 - Mar 2, 1861 Ormsby County, Nevada Territory Mar 2, 1861 - Oct 31, 1864 Ormsby County, Nevada Mar 2, 1861 - Jul 1, 1969 Carson City, Nevada July 1, 1969 - present |
Princess Mine: The Princess Mine and its proposed 30 stamp mill for the reduction of ores in Candelaria proper received considerable publicity in 1881 and 1882.The Southern Belle Mining Company was claimed in 1875. In 1880 it fell into the hands of New York investors who changed the name to the Princess.
The new firm planned to put up an up-to-date hoisting works and start sinking a shaft. At the same time a 30-stamp mill was called for. On October 27, 1881 the True Fissure stated that Colonel G. G. Lyon was to be the superintendent. Two weeks later the newspaper reported, “The North Carson Mine will be dismantled in a few days and the hoisting machinery taken down and moved to this place where it will be used for the Princess Mine.” In the middle of February, 1882 everything was set. They just needed water and the White Mountain Water Company would soon be ready to pipe it in. However, the hype seems to have been just that - hype! Shamberger makes no mention of the mill ever being operational and does not list the Princess as one of the top 12 producers in Candelaria and its surrounding area!
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