Mazuma, Nevada

Mazuma, Nevada was a small mining town in Pershing County, Nevada where eight people were killed in a flash flood on July 11, 1912.[2][3]

Mazuma
Ghost town
Etymology: Derived from Yiddish slang word for money: m'zumon[1]
Mazuma is located in Nevada
Mazuma
Mazuma
Coordinates: 40°28′18″N 118°45′50″W[1]
CountryUnited States
StateNevada
CountyPershing
Elevation
[1]
4,846 ft (1,477 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)PDT (UTC-7)

Mazuma was founded in 1907 and a post office was established on August 28, 1907. The name "Mazuma" is derived from a Yiddish slang word for money: m'zumon.[1] Other sources indicate that m'zumon means "the ready necessary".[4]

Just after 5pm on July 12, 1912, a 10-foot (3.0 m) wall of water was observed upstream from Mazuma at the Seven Troughs Canyon. The Seven Troughs Cyanide Plant was destroyed, releasing dozens of gallons of cyanide into the flood. A phone call was made, but due to the electrified atmosphere, the only word that could be heard at Mazuma was "water." The warning was not received in time, the 20-foot (6.1 m) high, 150-foot (46 m) wide flash flood hit Mazuma and killed almost a tenth of the population. Over the following weeks, relief efforts included visits by doctors and nurses from as far as Reno. A statewide relief fund was set up.[5] In addition, a relief fund was set up by the San Francisco Examiner, where William Randolph Hearst personally donated $100.[6]

Postmistress Maude Ruddell was killed in the flood when the post office collapsed on her while she was attempting to save the money.[7] The post office formally moved from Mazuma to Seven Troughs on November 30, 1912.

The Mazuma Hills Mill,[8] located upstream of Mazuma, burned down 13 days after the flood,[6] though the Darby Mill[9] located southwest of Mazuma, operated from 1909 until it was dismantled in 1918.[10]

References
  1. "Mazuma (historical)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 1 Feb 1990. Retrieved 2 Mar 2014.
  2. "Mazuma Devastated by Cloud Burst" (PDF). Seven Troughs and Lovelock Review-Miner. Lovelock, Nevada. 19 July 1912. Retrieved 20 Mar 2023.
  3. Tingley, Icyl C. (1976). "Cloudburst at Seven Troughs". In Paher, Stanley W. (ed.). Nevada Official Bicentennial Book. Las Vegas: Nevada Publications. pp. 158–159. Retrieved 20 Mar 2023.
  4. .Carlson, Helen S. (1974). Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary. University of Nevada Press. p. 165. ISBN 9780874170948. Retrieved 7 Jan 2020.
  5. Earl, Philip I. (Spring–Summer 1982). "Requiem for a Gullywasher: The Seven Troughs-Mazuma Flood of July 18, 1912, and its Aftermath". Humboldt Historian. Retrieved 2 Mar 2014.
  6. Brown, Matthew B. (July–August 2012). "Mazuma Wiped Out". Nevada Magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-08-27. Retrieved 2 Mar 2014.
  7. Murbarger, Nell. "The Seven Troughs Bonanza..." Desert Magazine. p. 8. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  8. "Mazuma Hills Mill (Historical)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2 Mar 2014.
  9. "Darby Mill (Historical)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 23 Dec 2014.
  10. Lincoln, Francis Church (1923). Mining Districts and Mineral Resources of Nevada. Verdi, NV: Nevada Newsletter Publishing Co. p. 216. Retrieved 23 Dec 2014.
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