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Ely is a city in White Pine County, Nevada, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 4,041. It is the county seat of White Pine County.
- Yelland Field is the airport for the Ely area.
- U.S. Highway 6, a major east-west transportation corridor, runs through Ely, as do the coast-to-coast U.S. Highway 50 and north-south U.S. Highway 93. Ely is the eastern end of the portion of US 50 known as "The Loneliest Road in America."
Geography
Ely is located at (39.253308, -114.877336). Altitude is 6435' above sea level.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.5 km² (7.1 mi²), all land.
Culture
Ely is a mining town, suffering through the boom and bust cycles so common in the West. Originally Ely was home to a number of copper mining companies, Kennecott being the most famous. Liberty Pit became the world's largest open-pit mine at its peak, but with a crash in the copper market in the mid 1970's, Kennecott shut down and Copper mining disappeared (temporarily).
With the advent of cyanide heap leaching -- a method of extracting gold from what was previously considered very low grade ore -- the next boom was on. Many companies processed the massive piles of "overburden" that had been removed from copper mines, or expanded the existing open-pit mines to extract the gold ore. Gold mines as widespread as the Robinson project near Ruth, and AmSelco's Alligator Ridge mine 65 miles from Ely, kept the town alive during the 1980's and 1990's, until the recent revival of copper mining. With Kennecott's smelter having been destroyed, ore mined now is shipped by rail to Seattle, where it is transported to Japan for smelting. The dramatic increase in demand for Copper in 2005 has once again made Ely a copper boom town.
Some of its attractions include the Nevada Northern Railway Museum, "The Ghost Train of Old Ely... a fully functioning steam engine passenger train that regularly plies the historic tracks from Ely to the Robinson mining district, and the nearby Great Basin National Park. It is also the nearest town to the proposed site of the Clock of the Long Now on Mount Washington.
Wildlife Viewing
The Bureau of Land Management, part of the United States Department of the Interior, operates an area supporting an Ungulate herd south of town. Ely Elk Viewing Area offers visitors the opportunity to see an Ungulate community up close.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,041 people, 1,727 households, and 1,065 families residing in the city. The population density was 218.8/km² (566.8/mi²). There were 2,205 housing units at an average density of 119.4/km² (309.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.14% White, 0.32% African American, 3.12% Native American, 1.09% Asian, 0.35% Pacific Islander, 3.71% from other races, and 2.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.35% of the population.
There were 1,727 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,408, and the median income for a family was $42,168. Males had a median income of $36,016 versus $26,597 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,013. About 11.3% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.
History
- Former First Lady Pat Nixon was born in Ely on March 16, 1912.
- The long stretch of road on Nevada State Highway 318 near Ely is very well known worldwide for the annual 90 miles Silver State Classic course, an authorised time trial Cannonball Run style race and attracts entries from all over the world. This event is one of the towns source of income from tourists and competitors.
- The climatic scene to the 2001 movie Rat Race was filmed in Ely, in and around the restored train depot of the railway museum.
Railroads
- BHP Nevada Railroad Ruth - Ely - Shafter (1996 - 1999)
- Nevada Northern Railway Museum
External links
"Ely, Nevada"