CPRR Water Works at Argenta, Nevada
From: "D'Angelo, James" JDAngelo@TRCSOLUTIONS.com
You might be interested in my 1993 article in the Nevada Archaeologist, Vol 11, entitled, "Railroad Waterworks at Argenta, Nevada." The type of waterworks I excavated and documented is probably not entirely unique, but is a type I have not seen discussed elsewhere. When the RR was extended beyond Argenta, Argenta was moved, buildings and all, back five miles to the Reese River Station (thereafter, Battle Mountain) in 1870. However, Argenta remained as a siding for some time after that, and the water source is mentioned in a 1903 surveyors field notes.
James J. D'Angelo, Ph.D., RPA
Senior Archaeologist
TRC Garrow Associates, Inc.
3772 Pleasantdale Rd 200
Atlanta, GA 30340
posted from CPRR Discussion Group at 10:22 AM
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Abstract
During the course of a cultural resource survey conducted in the vicinity of Argenta, Eureka County, Nevada, for Gold Fields Mining Corporation, an old water works system was recorded in Water Canyon. The system is alluded to in a 1903 survey as supplying the Southern Pacific Railroad which came through the area in November of 1868. The gravityfeed system consists of a water source at a spring in the canyon, a sedimentation box, and associated iron pipe. Archaeological investigation of railroad resources can help us "understand the construction methods and maintenance requirements of railroads operating in Nevada's hostile environment" (Adkins 1991: 8-49). The system represents water works engineering principles adapted to a local situation, and may be the only recorded example of its type from this period of early railroading in Nevada.
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