Mina is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mineral County in west-central Nevada, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 95 (38° 23' 25" N 118° 06' 30" W) at an elevation of 4560 ft. The population at the 2020 census was 127.

History

Mina was founded as a railroad town in 1905 and was named for Ferminia Sarras, a large landowner and famed prospector known as the "Copper Queen". The Carson and Colorado Railway, a division of Southern Pacific Railroad, had a station in the town. The railroad is long gone – the last section between Thorne and Mina shut down in 1985 – but at one time a local shuttle called the "Slim Princess" allowed Native Americans to ride free of charge atop the railcars, and passengers and crew would shoot wild game from open windows. The train moved slowly enough that hunters were able to retrieve their game and reboard. Gee Jon and Hughie Sing were convicted of the August 27, 1921, murder in Mina of Tom Quong Kee. Gee Jon, a 29-year-old member of the Hop Sing Tong, became the first person to be executed by lethal gas. The execution was at the Nevada State Prison on February 8, 1924.

Name

Some sources state that the name is derived from the Spanish word meaning "mine". Other sources state that John C. Fulton (or John M. Fulton), division general manager for the Southern Pacific Railroad, named the town after Fermina Sarras (or Sarrias), a Nicaraguan woman who was operating nearby copper prospects. Initially a railroad station was intended to be at Sodaville, but agreement between the railroad and land speculators could not be reached, so Mina, Nevada, was platted two miles north of Sodaville.

Geography

Mina is located in the Soda Spring Valley of eastern Mineral County along U.S. Route 95, 32 mi southeast of Hawthorne and 70 mi northwest of Tonopah. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Mina CDP has an area of 2.41 sqmi, of which 0.001 sqmi, or 0.04%, are water.

Climate

The Köppen Climate System classifies the weather in this area as semi-arid, abbreviated BSk. This climate type occurs primarily on the periphery of true deserts in low-latitude semiarid steppe regions.

Demographics