Courtesy photo - U.S. Forest Service workers and volunteers stand near the new interpretative sign installed near the entrance of the Aurora cemetery,

Courtesy photo –
U.S. Forest Service workers and volunteers stand near the new interpretative sign installed near the entrance of the Aurora cemetery,

Mineral County Museum
On June 10, staff of the U.S. Forest Service Bridgeport Ranger District (BRD) and volunteers with the archaeological site stewards began the installation of a new interpretative sign for the ghost town of Aurora. Located near the entrance to the Aurora cemetery, the sign panel installation was completed on June 13 and provides information about the town’s history on the front panel, with information about the town’s cemeteries on the back panel.

The sign was a project approved by the Lyon-Mineral County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC), volunteers who work to review project proposals to make recommendations of which proposals the RAC members believe warrant funding. Both counties contribute funding to these kinds of endeavors through the federal program for Secure Rural Schools.

The new sign will enhance the experiences of the many people who annually visit the old ghost town site and stroll among the graves in the cemetery. The cemetery panel contains the names of those persons who were actually buried at Aurora, but whose graves bear no marker whatsoever.

Supervising the installation the frame and support posts on the tenth were the BRD’s archaeologist, Eric Dillingham and Aaron Coogan, Rangeland Management Specialist. Dillingham and Coogan were assisted by Kailie Pena, of Arcata, Calif., an intern from Humboldt State University. Site stewards who participated were Gordon Jackson of Reno; Jim Drown and Ron Sampson, both of Minden; Tim Stalder of Pine Grove, Calif.; David Lorea of Sacramento, Calif. and Robert Easley of Jamestown, Calif.

Nevada’s site stewards volunteer to protect cultural resources by monitoring archaeological and historic sites for human and natural disturbances. Federal agencies use the stewards as additional eyes and ears in the field. The Nevada site stewardship program is run cooperatively between the Forest Service, BLM, and the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). The SHPO provides introductory training to stewards and tracks their activities and accomplishments.

Anyone wishing to become a site steward may contact Eric Dillingham at the BRD by calling 760-932-5817 or by email at mailto:edillingham@fs.fed.us or edillingham@fs.fed.us, who will direct you in how to join these worthy efforts.