In 1849 emigrant James Hardin picked up heavy metal he took for lead in the Black Rock Desert and molded it into camp goods; years later it assayed as silver. The rush that followed built Hardin City in the 1860s, mills and all, and the ledge was never found again. The town died in place; its ruins still sit on the playa edge.
Black Rock Desert (Humboldt County, NV)
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