Boomtowns sprung up all over the Nelson District, the major settlements being El Dorado and Nelson because of their proximity to the Colorado River. Ore from the mines would be transported to steamboats on the waterway, which would head south to Yuma, AZ, where the material would in turn be prepared for overland transfer to San Francisco. Things got more efficient in 1864 when the District got its first stamp mill, an ingenious steam-powered machine that crushed the ore before it was loaded on barges. (Click here for Part 1 of this series of posts about El Dorado Canyon ~ editor)

Water-powered stamp mill used to pound ore before shipment down river.

Lawlessness continued to thrive, most of it between Yankee and Confederate Civil War sympathizers. The affiliations split workers into warring camps that nearly brought mining production to a halt. Federal troops were ordered to bring peace to the area. But the respite was short-lived: The District, formerly part of Arizona, merged with Nevada, thus placing the nearest source of law enforcement 300 miles away in the town of Hiko. In 1867, a military outpost was assigned to El Dorado Canyon to protect steamboats and the local populace from raiding bands of Indians.

The most famous Indians that terrorized the riverside communities were Arvote, who was reported to have killed five settlers, and Queho, a Cocopah Indian, to whom authorities attributed 23 killings. It’s reported that Queho’s bloodthirst made him Nevada’s first serial killer and it’s #1 public enemy. Relentlessly pursued, he was never captured. In 1940, remains were found in an El Dorado Cave that were believed to be his.

The supposed remains of Queho, the renegade Indian of El Dorado Canyon

By the early 1900′s, Nelson’s Landing was one of the largest ports on the Colorado River, a fact that made it pivotal during prohibition and the construction of Hoover Dam.

Prohibition became law in January 1920. Arizona enforced it; Nevada didn’t. The result was moonshine liquor sold for a dollar a gallon in Nevada and for five dollars a gallon in Arizona. The price difference was not lost on bootleggers, who jumped at the opportunity to make a profit by pushing the booze across the river from Nelson’s Landing.

Hoover Dam, originally slated for Boulder Canyon, was to be constructed in nearby Black Canyon. The dam was conceived in response to the Colorado’s perennial flooding. It was a monumental project and required Herculean manpower and supplies, the majority of which made their way up the Colorado River via Nelson’s Landing.

Much of the manpower and supplies for Hoover Dam arrived from Nelson's Landing.

The dam, completed in 1936, changed the area forever, making it a prime tourism destination for fishing. Nelson’s Landing, for instance, morphed into a resort replete with boats, gas, food and cabins. Meantime, the Techatticup Mine continued operating until 1945. The closure resulted in the abandonment of Nelson. Relatedly, in the 1950′s, Davis Dam was built. This created Lake Mojave, which flooded the old stamp-mill site and what was left of the El Dorado mining camp.

Next: Nelson today, mine tours, Hollywood and directions how to get to the canyon.

This article is part of a series about El Dorado Canyon. Read the other segments: Part 1 | Part 3