Unionville

Nevada is ghost-town central: the Comstock made it a state, and a century of played-out bonanzas kept it in ruins.

Unionville is a census-designated place in Pershing County, Nevada, located south of Interstate 80 and just west of State Route 400 on Unionville Road, with the population as of the 2020 census being 27. The town's best years were during the 1870s, when it was an active mining and prospecting town serving the surrounding hilly region. For a brief time, Samuel Langhorne Clemens (better known as Mark Twain) lived there and prospected, but left without having had much success.

Unionville never fully emptied out — it's a living historic town where a small community still tends the old buildings. Be a considerate guest: patronize local businesses, keep noise down, and remember people live here.

Public access makes Unionville one of the easier ghost towns to actually stand in — though "public" in ghost-town country can still mean miles of dirt road, so check recent trip reports first.

Unionville is publicly accessible — but give the word "accessible" some respect. Out here it can still mean miles of unmaintained dirt road. Check recent trip reports, carry extra water and a spare tire, download offline maps, and let someone know your route. The mapped point for Unionville is roughly 40.4400, -118.4900 — use it as a starting point and cross-reference a current topographic map before leaving pavement.

Ghost-town etiquette is simple: take only photographs. Removing artifacts is illegal on public lands and disrespectful everywhere else — and on federal land it can be a serious offense.

The ground itself demands respect: open mine shafts, collapsing floors, and old wells hide in tall grass, cell service is often nonexistent, and help can be hours away. Tell someone your plans, pack more water than you think you'll need — and save the early morning or late afternoon light for your camera.

Want the full story? The Wikipedia article on "Unionville, Nevada" covers Unionville in more depth — find the link in Sources below. County archives, historic newspaper collections, and the state historical society are the next stops after that: plat maps, census rolls, and old photographs fill in what a short visit can't. If you make the trip, consider sharing your photos and notes — firsthand reports are how the record of Unionville gets better.