Mina, Nevada
Mina is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Mineral County in west-central Nevada, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 95 at an elevation of. 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, division general manager for the Southern Pacific Railroad, named the town after Fermina Sarras, 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.