Jungo, Nevada Explained

Jungo, Nevada
Settlement Type:Ghost town
Coordinates:40.9167°N -118.3819°W
Elevation Ft:4170
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Nevada
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Humboldt
Pushpin Map:USA Nevada#USA
Pushpin Label:Jungo
Pushpin Label Position:top

Jungo[1] is a ghost town located on Humboldt County Route 55[2] (former Nevada State Route 49), between Winnemucca, Nevada and Sulphur, Nevada. At one time, Jungo boasted a hotel, store, filling station and blacksmith's shop, though no buildings remain.

The town of Jungo is named for Jungo Point, a survey peak located 11 miles away;[3] [4] in 1888, Jungo Point was a stage stop on a mail route between Winnemucca and "Denio's".[5]

The post office at Jungo was in operation from January 1911 until May 1952.[6] Jungo was a station on the Feather River Route of the Western Pacific Railroad.[3] In 1913, Jungo consisted of twelve buildings that included the station, a freight shed, a pumping station, a hotel and a saloon.[7]

George Austin lived in Jungo in 1915[8] and operated the hotel, filling station and general store at Jungo in the 1930s. In 1935, Austin purchased the Jumbo Mine,[9] located 36 miles away, from two prospectors by the names of Grover Staggs who went by Red Staggs and the others name was Clyde Taylor, for $10,000.00 ($ today) with $500 due immediately. Mining engineer and former U.S. President Herbert Hoover visited Jungo in 1936 and advised Austin to retain ownership of Jumbo. Austin offered to pay Hoover for the advice and Hoover replied, "That kind of advice is free." Austin received many offers for the mine and stated that if he sold the mine for $1,000,000, then he would owe the $420,000 in taxes, but that the taxes don't apply if the gold is in the ground. Austin was also concerned about his sons becoming "loafers" if they were rich.[10] [11]

In 1937, a group of Texas oilmen including H. L. Hunt placed an option to buy Jumbo Mine with a $250,000 ($ today) down payment.[12] [13]

The Jungo Hotel was in operation in 1955.[14]

In 2012, Recology received a permit to build a Municipal Solid Waste Disposal site at Jungo.[15] [16]

References

  1. 854497. Jungo (historical). 2016-01-03. 1980-12-12.
  2. Nevada Road & Recreation Atlas . Benchmark Maps . 2007 . 1:280000 . 41–42 . 0-929591-95-X.
  3. Book: Carlson , Helen S. . Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary. 147. 1974-01-01. University of Nevada Press. 978-0-87417-094-8. 2016-01-03.
  4. Book: Origin of Place Names: Nevada. Federal Writers' Project, W. P. A.. Reno. 1941. 2016-01-03.
  5. News: Beevities - Local and General Intelligence. Reno Evening Gazette. 1888-07-19. 3. 2016-01-03.
  6. 864954. Jungo Post Office (historical). 2016-01-03. 1991-09-01.
  7. Book: Denton, Shelley Wright . Pages from a Naturalist's Diary . 166 . January 9, 2022.
  8. US. 1185044. 1916-05-30. Wheel-rim. Austin. George B..
  9. 845876. Jumbo Mine. 2016-01-09 . 1980-12-12.
  10. News: Jungo's Jumbo. 1936-08-31. 43–44. Time Magazine. 2016-01-09. Includes picture of Mr. George Austin and his wife.
  11. Web site: Jumbo Gold Mine-Jungo Nevada-Summer Geo. Austin And Family - 1936. LIFE Photo Collection. 2016-01-09. 136 photos of Jungo and Jumbo.
  12. News: Jumbo Optioned. 1937-06-07. 68, 70. Time Magazine. 2016-01-09.
  13. News: Jumbo Discoverers Strike New Vein. Reading Eagle, Reading, Pennsylvania. 1937-07-26. 2016-01-09.
  14. News: Black Rock Desert Roads Lead to Humboldt County. Robert Trego. Nevada State Journal. 1955-10-23. 10. 2016-01-09. The article includes low-resolution photos of the Black Rock Desert and Sulphur, Nevada.
  15. Web site: Jungo Disposal Site . 2016-01-09 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160110042930/http://jungoland.com/ . 2016-01-10 .
  16. Web site: Jungo Landfill. Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. 2016-01-09.