The first strikes were made in 1863 by Spanish-speaking prospectors. Extensive activity didn’t begin until 1873 at Pickhandle Gulch (later Metallic City), a half-mile south of the later site of Candelaria. Candelaria itself was platted in 1876 and reached what, in hindsight, was the peak of its boom in the early 1880s. The area is dry even by Nevada standards, and dry milling of the ore led to extensive cases of silicosis among the mill workers, although conditions were never as bad as in the notorious Delamar mill in eastern…
