High Noon – History of Hamilton, Nevada, White Pine County’s original county seat (Virtual Zoom)
April 16 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
High Noon
April 16, 2026
Noon
Register for this Lecture:
Sean Pitts, Director of the East Ely Depot.
Title: History of Hamilton, Nevada, White Pine County’s original county seat
Speaker: Sean Pitts, Museum Director and historian
Interior store view, Hamilton, Nevada.
Talk Summary: Explore the rich history of Nevada’s first eastern mining boom using historic maps and photographs. Learn how the 1867 silver discovery of Treasure Hill in White Pine Mining District launched one of the most intense mining rushes in American history, which would help establish Hamilton by May 1868.
The mining boom was intensive because it was the first discovery after the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, allowing easy transportation to the site.
Hamilton, Nevada, was established in May 1868, and it grew rapidly as a bustling mining town, becoming the first county seat of White Pine County in 1869. This was a short-lived silver stampede, 1868 – 1869. Reasons for the decline included the silver was only shallow, two fires destroyed the main portion of the town, and then the courthouse; the county seat was moved to Ely in 1887.
Speaker Bio: Sean Pitts has a strong educational background and has been instrumental in preserving the history of Ely and the surrounding areas. His work at the museum and in the community has been significant in documenting and sharing the stories of the past.
After studying Museum Administration at Utah State University, Pitts’ lifelong dream of becoming a museum director materialized in 1989, hired as the director of the White Pine Public Museum in Ely. Since 1991, Pitts has been hired by the State of Nevada as director of the East Ely Railroad Depot Museum.
Nevada State Railroad Museum, East Ely: The East Ely Depot, built in 1907, is a fully restored train depot. The visitor’s experience allows them to travel in time through the general offices of the railroad, including train dispatchers, crew chiefs, finance, medical, management, and the company President. Adjacent to the Depot, the Nevada Northern Railway Foundation provides guided tours of the rail yards, shops and facilities of the railroad.
