Kimberly

The town of Kimberly was established in 1903 for the purpose of mining plentiful copper in central White Pine County. It was one of four "company towns" in the area, and was built by Giroux Consolidated Company on some of the oldest copper discoveries in the district, some of which dated back to the 1870s.

Kimberly was small by company town standards. In 1914, there were houses, a company store, a school, and a post office. Eventually, a hospital was built, and by 1920, the town's population stood at 459. By 1930, the town had grown to just 1,007 inhabitants.

Kimberly was also the site of a sensational mining rescue. In December 1907, a major cave-in occurred in what was known as the Alpha shaft. Two miners were killed, but three miraculously survived and even managed to make a telephone call for help before the line broke under settling dirt and rock.

Efforts to dig the miners out began almost immediately. It was discovered that a pipe that connected them to the outside world was intact, so food, water, playing cards, and cigars were lowered to the stranded men. The miners survived for forty-five days and thirteen hours before they were rescued on January 19, 1908.

Kimberly and its surrounding mines were purchased by Kennecott Corporation in the 1950s. The town site was eventually dismantled to make way for another mining operation. Today an open pit and mine dumps mark the spot where the town once stood.

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