Remains of two cars, most likely near the remains of Hugh Lord's shop, in St Thomas, Nevada, when the town emerged from the waters of Lake Mead in 1945

Transcribed Notes: Bureau of Reclamation typed notes appended to back of photo: Boulder Canyon Project--Nevada--Region 3 St. Thomas, Nevada, was founded by the Mormons in 1855. In its heyday there were about 800 residents in the village. The "Main Street" was a part of the old Arrowhead Trail, which led from Salt Lake City, Utah to Los Angeles, California. In June 1938 the town was abandoned by its residents, which at that time were few in number because of the rising waters of Lake Mead that submerged the townsite. Photograph shows a closeup of two cars abandoned by their owners. Note the wide wooden wheel on the car to the right; also, the smaller wheel with wooden spokes. The wide wooden wheel was used as an "engine" to pump water, the belt being placed on this wooden wheel.

Claude Black describes his family's escape from Germany to Santiago, Chile, and eventually settling in Chicago, Illinois. The essay is illustrated with images of his family and documents from their journey.

From the Nye County, Nevada Photograph Collection (PH-00221) -- Series VII. Other areas in Nye County -- Subseries VII.I. Wilson Family (Toiyabe Mountains, Nevada). The hopper on the starboard side of the dredge is visible. The dredge processed the gravel through jigs as opposed to sluices. With the volume of material the dredge handled, a sluice would have been impractical. A jig has a diaphragm driven by an electric motor which pulsates. The Yuba jigs were about 42 inches long by 42 inches across. A bed in the jig was filled with steel shot. As the gravel material floated across the steel shot, the jig's pulsating diaphragm raised the steel shot-bed up and gold, being so much heavier than the gravel and the steel shot, would work its way down through the shot-bed. The jig bed usually has a 1/8-inch mesh stainless steel screen so that any gold finer than 1/8 inch will pass through the screen. The jig pulsated between 60 and 100 times a minute, a "steady throb." Gold coarser than 1/8 inch, being very heavy, would be held on top the screen beneath the bed of steel shot.