The Mineral County Museum is one of the best museums in Nevada.  It is a   non-profit facility owned by Mineral County, Nevada and dedicated to preserving the history and culture of the past. 

      Mineral County has a rich history, it is part of what was once known as Esmeralda in the Nevada Territory.  Actually you could say that we were once part of Western Utah Territory because gold was discovered at Aurora in 1860 one year before the Territory of Nevada was formed.  But most of our written history starts in 1861 when the miners of all types began to arrive in Aurora looking to strike it rich.  Aurora was such a rich area that both Nevada and California claimed it for their own.  This lead to a great deal of confusion when Aurora was the  County Seat of Mono County California and  Esmeralda County Nevada Territory at the same time.  But when the dust finally settled Aurora was found to be in Nevada and went on to be one of the wildest towns in the wild west.  Click on the link on the left side of this page for the story of Aurora, Nevada.
     While most people think of 1861 as the start of our local history it is far from the being.  What is now called Walker Lake, just out side of Hawthorne, Nevada, has long been the home of the "Agai Ducutta Numa" members of the Paiute tribe who's name means Trout Eater People. 
     Another earlier influence were Spanish Miners who traveled this way from  Mexico in the early 1800's.  At the Mineral County Museum you can see a collection of Mission Bells that were found buried in the ground about 15 miles southeast of Hawthorne, Nevada.