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It is located where the southern end of the magnificent Steptoe Valley meets foothills of the Egan Range, at the intersection of Hiways 6, 50 and 93.
One of the greatest attractions, is the Ghost Train, the restored Nevada Northern Railway that takes passengers from the old depot in East Ely on excursions west
to Ruth and northeast to McGill from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Built in 1906, the Nevada Northern connected the enormous pit mines at Ruth with the
smelter on the old McGill Ranch, and then with the main line at Cobre for an overall run of not quite 150 miles. After considerable repair and restoration, the Nevada
Northern began carrying passengers again in 1986.
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The White Pine Public Museum at 2000 Aultman Street is the showplace for a mineral collection of considerable variety, and for unique items like the home-made
cannon which once guarded the Court House in Hamilton.
Ely, established in the 1870s as a stagecoach station and post office. Only after it was designated the White Pine County seat in 1887 did the population climb to
200. Most of the activity in the region was at the surrounding mining camps of Ward, Cherry Creek, Osceola and Taylor.
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After the turn of the century, immense copper deposits near Ely began to attract attention away from the failing gold mines, and by 1906 a boom had developed in
copper. The Nevada Northern Railway was completed in the fall of that year to connect the mines with the Southern Pacific Railroad at Cobre. In 1908, when the
smelter at McGill went on the line, mineral production leapt from barely more than $2000 the year before to more than $2 million. By 1917 annual production climbed
to nearly $26.5 million. The Kennecott Copper Company began acquiring Ely copper mining companies in 1915. By 1958 these acquisitions resulted in control of
the region's copper mines and dominated the local economy.
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In 1978 the copper mines closed, the smelter closed, the railroad closed, and most of Kennecott's 1500 local employees were laid off. The departure of Kennecott
was a watershed event in White Pine County history, and for nearly 20 years nothing quite took up the economic slack. The economic downturn precluded
widespread renovation, and the early 20th century small-town architecture that dominates its center give Ely a familiar look.
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For a while in the early 1990s it seemed the tide had turned when the old Kennecott property at Ruth was acquired by Magma Copper Co. in 1991. At the time,
Magma's president predicted "this could be the last big copper project in this country."
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The historic 6-story Hotel Nevada & Gambling Hall presides over downtown as it has done since 1928. For three generations it has been the city's principal hostelry,
and for 20 years -- until 1948 -- it was Nevada's tallest building. Along with much of the downtown, it had become shabby, but new owners have restored it far
beyond its original eminence.
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