The town was the site of one of the first major gold strikes in Nevada and one of the biggest mining booms in state history.

During the American Civil War, deserters from both the Union and Confederate armies would wander there, hoping that such an isolated location would be the last place military authorities would look for them.

Labor disputes, and disagreements over ownership and management, resulted in wanton killings so frequent as to be routine and ordinary.

Despite the sinister reputation of the mine, it along with others in the town produced several million dollars in gold, silver, copper and lead.

[7] 35°42′27″N 114°42′42″W / 35.70750°N 114.71167°W / 35.70750; -114.71167 Nelson's Landing washed into Lake Mohave after a strong downpour in the regional mountains sent the runoff down the channels and produced a flash flood.

There are five wide channels that run from the local mountains toward the river, all of which converge into a small outlet where Nelson's Landing was.

The sparsely populated community consists mainly of privately owned ranch houses, and a river and mining tour business housed in a former Texaco gas station, north of the road from the Techatticup Mine, that has been used as a filming location for several feature films, including 3000 Miles to Graceland.