Ely Townsite Company 1906-2024
In this edition, we take a look at the Ely Townsite Company office building in East Ely. The original photo, which most likely dates to the opening of the company in 1906, shows the main offices of the Ely Townsite Company which were located at the corner of Avenue C and 11th Street. The two wagons out in front of the building plus what appears to be a 45 star flag (in use until 1908) flying from the building confirm that. The Ely Townsite Company was established in 1906 by William Boyce Thompson and his partner George Gunn to organize, plan, and sell property in the new town of Ely City, later renamed East Ely after the post office was established there. I’m not sure how long the company remained in business, but the building was still standing as late as 1931 based on an aerial photo commissioned by Nevada Consolidated Copper Company. I’m also not clear when the building was demolished, but by 1982 (the earliest aerial image I can find outside of the 1931 image), the building was gone. Fun fact, when the Lincoln Highway was established in 1913, it followed Avenue C, which is to the left of both buildings, until 1939 when the highway was realigned three blocks south to Ave F, now known as East Aultman.
In the current photo, shot June 30, 2024, the scene has drastically changed as East Ely developed and has grown in around the site of the old Townsite Company building. What currently occupies the spot is the former home of the Ely Daily Times who built it after their downtown office was destroyed when an ambulance crashed through the front in July 1995. The newspaper officially opened the new office three years later in June 1998 with a crowd of around 100 people in attendance. The building was then sold to the county (currently home to the White Pine County Assessor and White Pine County Social Services) after the newspaper was bought by a southern Nevada media company and printing was moved there, leaving only the main office in Ely. Sadly, the Ely Times, as it is known today, is now a digital only newspaper.
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