The ghost town of Aurora Nevada is slowly being reclaimed by the beautiful terrain that it once stood upon. Almost nothing remaining that indicates the presence of its former self. Its beginning started on August 25th 1860 when prospectors E.R. Hicks, J.M. Corey and James Braley who had failed to make a name for themselves at Monoville - Mono Diggings, found an ore body 30 miles to the east. News first spread back to prospectors at the diggings in Monoville which eventually caused the demise of that town. By 1861 an official town was being laid out by Joshua Clayton. Whole buildings were being hauled out of Monoville to the newly forming town of Aurora. When word had finally reached Virginia City and California mining towns to the West, an eastern rush ensued. Because of a lack of wood materials in the area, business men began shipping it in along with brick. Organized transportation from Virginia City, Carson City and Benton followed. Monoville, now almost deserted, became a stage and re-supply for all traffic entering Aurora from the south. That year over 600 residents called Aurora home and hundreds of mining claims had been staked all over the surrounding hills. Mining Companies were being formed and mills erected.
On March 2nd 1861 the Nevada Territory was formed by congress and there was great confusion whether Aurora was in Nevada or California as originally thought. Until Washington sent out land surveyors in 1863, residents of Aurora were walking from one side of town to the other to vote for two different County and State officials during elections. It was September 23, 1863 that the results of the official land survey were made public and Aurora was found to be in the territory of Nevada. There are many stories to be said about Aurora and the famous names that came through her. Eventually the strikes at Bodie would lead most residents out of Aurora, but not before she produced over $30 million in ore from her mines, and grew a population of over 10 thousand soles. Later attempts at revitalizing Aurora had all but failed, including an attempt that would create a new settlement to the east named "Mangum". Soon after the nation had gone to war and the makeshift town of Mangum was deserted as well as the buildings of Aurora. Those buildings that still remained were hauled off to other towns or stripped for firewood. Bricks were removed from exterior walls and hauled off for reuse. Aurora slowly slipped in to darkness.
