This winding two-lane road passes through the heart of Northern Nevada’s silver and gold mining country. About four miles from the intersection of U.S. 50 and Route 341, you reach Silver City, once a thriving silver mining town.

In 1861, Silver City reportedly had a population of 1,200. Additionally, it has home to boarding houses, saloons, four hotels and extensive stables and corrals. The town was an important link between the Comstock Lode mines of Virginia City and the processing mills located near Dayton and along the Carson River.

While the town thrived for a few years, its own mills and mines proved to be less productive than Virginia City and Gold Hill. A serious decline began after 1869 when the Virginia & Truckee Railroad was completed, which eliminated the town’s value as a freight center.

Perhaps because Silver City has never gained the acclaim and attention of Virginia City, today there are significant remnants including a handful of historic structures still in use that serve as direct links to the town’s rich past. While the community does not have a large commercial district like Virginia City, it does have a post office, a substantial cemetery and such historic buildings as the Hardwick House, a former icehouse (and former bed and breakfast) built in 1862 that is now a private residence.

Additionally, if you wander the enclave, you can find other historic remains, including large wooden vats, once part of a mining operation, massive wooden milling frames and foundations and, to the south, a mostly intact mining facility stretching up the hillside.

Directly north of Silver City are two walls of craggy, dark rock through which Route 341 passes. Known as “Devil’s Gate,” this narrow opening earned a colorful reputation in the 19th century as a place that was comfortable with trouble. Formed from lava rock, the passage through Devil’s Gate was widened in the middle of the 19th century when part of the jagged rock wall was blasted away for a wagon road.

In addition to its name, Devil’s Gate’s image was forever tarnished in the late 1850s and early 1860s when the narrow passage was a hideout for highwaymen and robbers. J. Ross Browne, a noted 19th century journalist, wrote that the trip through the gate’s narrows was unsafe for travelers because of the "unhallowed character of the place.”

In his 1860 book, “A Peep At Washoe,” Brown noted, “As I passed through the Devil's Gate it struck me that there was something ominous in the name. 'Let all who enter here - ' But I had already reached the other side. It was too late now for repentance.”

Dozens of newspaper reports from the day mention people being relieved of their watches, wallets and other possessions as a "toll" to those lying in wait at the gate. In addition to the involuntary toll, there was also, for many years, an official toll station at the gate. Since the passage was the easiest way to reach Virginia City, the gate saw thousands of newcomers trudging through its narrow opening on their way to the Queen of the Comstock.

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