Hardin City was the site of a Nevada silver mining boom town from 1859 until about 1868.

He returned to camp with thirty or forty pounds and found that it easily melted.

The portion that remained at camp was later found and eventually assayed to be a carbonate of lead and silver.

As with many stories of a lost mine, nothing was found, though there was a rush and the town of Hardin City was created.

[2][5] In May 1860, news of the First Battle of Pyramid Lake caused the prospectors to leave the area.