Contact, Nevada Explained

Contact, Nevada
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:USA Nevada
Pushpin Label Position:left
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within the state of Nevada
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Nevada
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Elko
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population As Of:2000
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:Pacific (PST)
Utc Offset:-8
Timezone Dst:PDT
Utc Offset Dst:-7
Elevation Ft:5351
Coordinates:41.7694°N -114.7525°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP codes
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID

Contact is an unincorporated community in Elko County, Nevada, United States. It is located on a mineral-rich granite intrusion and there are many mines nearby.

History

A post office was established at Contact in 1897, and remained in operation until 1962. The name "Contact" is mining jargon.[1]

As of 1915, Contact had a hotel, restaurant and its own local newspaper. Although a new townsite was laid out in 1930, by that time the community was once again in decline. A devastating 1942 fire effectively turned Contact into a near-ghost town.[2] Today one of the main presences in Contact is a Nevada Department of Transportation maintenance station.[3]

Jackpot

Located approximately 15 miles (13.3 km) south of Jackpot on U.S. Route 93, prior to Jackpot's founding in 1954 Contact was known as one of the closest Nevada settlements to the Idaho border. Early records of Cactus Pete's (then known as Cactus Pete's Desert Lodge) placed the property in Contact before Jackpot emerged as a separate settlement.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Origin of Place Names: Nevada . W.P.A. . Federal Writers' Project . 1941 . 22.
  2. http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nv/contact.htm Contact - Nevada Ghost Town
  3. http://www.nevadadot.com/traveler/maps/StateMaps/pdfs/NDOTMaintenanceDisticts.pdf NDOT Maintenance Districts 2007 (letter).FH10
  4. Web site: Island Park Lodge - About . 2008-08-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110726192002/http://www.islandparklodge.org/about.html . 2011-07-26 . dead .