Betty O' Neal

Elevation: 5,430

A ghost town site in northern Lander County, 15 miles south of Battle Mountain.

The Betty O' Neal Mill was established almost overnight during the summer of 1880 when valuable silver deposits were found at the head of Lewis Canyon. A series of disasters seemed intent on jinxing the Betty O' Neal, the first of which occurred on Halloween 1882 when the boiler at the hoisting works exploded, killing one miner and destroying the engine house. After its string of accidents, the mill lay dormant until around 1922 when mining giant Noble Getchell reopened it and installed a modern mill. Betty O' Neal was reborn as a company town with an established newspaper -- The Concentrator, a baseball team, and a post office. Although hard luck and even more disasters continued to plague operations here, the Betty O'Neal produced over $2-million in silver and gold during the next seven years. Slipping ore prices eventually led to its death, forcing the closure of the post office in 1932.

How To Get Here
Today, the town of Betty O' Neal sits on private property. The only structure left at Betty O' is the three-story company mill and makes for a pretty interesting site if you can permission to see it. From Battle Mountain, follow the paved Hilltop-Lewis Canyon Road southeast from SR 305 for 7 miles. Continue past the pavement end for another 8 miles into Lewis Canyon to the townsite on your right.