Eureka: Gold Street

August 2, 2024

A few days ago I arrived in Eureka, Nevada. I was there once before, 28 years ago. The sign had changed: about 20 years ago the town decided to rebrand itself from "THE LONELIEST TOWN ON THE LONELIEST ROAD IN AMERICA" to "THE FRIENDLIEST..." The last time I was there, I arrived by car, albeit a car on an empty tank, and I had less than $10 to my name.

In September, 1864, four silver prospectors came down the mountain from Austin, and discovered Eureka. Legend has it, when one discovered silver there, he exclaimed "Eureka!" Greek for, "I have found it!" Couple of little problems: the extraction process was difficult and required lots of charcoal. Thus, a group of businessmen from San Francisco were able to seize the opportunity by buying up the substantial claims and mines. They established the Eureka Consolidated Mining Company.

Immigrants, mostly Chinese, worked to get the railroad tracks to Eureka. Italian immigrants focused on cutting and burning wood to produce the charcoal needed by the mining company. In fact, they cut 5000 acres of forest per year, such that, by 1878 most trees within 50 miles were gone. The mining company and local and state authorities colluded to keep the price of charcoal low. Thus, the lion's share of wealth from the mines did not go to the immigrants who laid the railroad tracks, nor the immigrants who produced the charcoal, nor the miners, nor the pioneers who came west. It went to a few businessmen in San Francisco.

One of the prospectors from Austin studied Greek philosophy: The exclamation, "Eureka!" is often associated with Archimedes' discovery of how to measure the volume of irregular objects. King Hiero of Syracuse did not trust his goldsmith (turns out, with reason). He tasked Archimedes with determining whether or not the crown that he commissioned his goldsmith to create was, indeed, forged from the pure gold provided. Legend has it, while struggling with this problem, Archimedes stepped into a bathtub and notice the water level rose. Hence, he figured out a solution. Apparently, he was so excited that, in addition to shouting, "Eureka!" he ran naked through the streets of Syracuse.

Both of the above legends reveal the gross disparity between those doing most of the work, and those who possess most of the gold.

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