Ruth, Nevada | |
|---|---|
 Street Scene in Ruth, Nevada | |
  Ruth Location within the state of Nevada Show map of Nevada Ruth Ruth (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:39°16′45″N114°59′24″W / 39.27917°N 114.99000°W /39.27917; -114.99000 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| County | White Pine |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.35 sq mi (0.90 km2) |
| • Land | 0.35 sq mi (0.90 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 6,870 ft (2,090 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 371 |
| • Density | 1,072.25/sq mi (414.24/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP codes | 89319 |
| FIPS code | 32-63800 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2629979[2] |
Ruth is acensus-designated place (CDP) inWhite Pine County,Nevada, United States. Founded in 1903, it had a population of 440 at the2010 census.[3]
Ruth was built as acompany town for the adjacentRobinson Mine, a large open-pitcopper mine, which is still in operation as of 2022.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 371 | — | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[4] | |||
Ruth began as a settlement for workers of the White Pine Copper Company in 1903. It derived its name from the Ruth mining claim which was named for Ruth McDonald, daughter of the original owner of the mining claim.[5]
With the openingNevada Northern Railway in the year 1906 copper production began to boom.
In 1905,Daniel C. Jackling "evaluated a low-grade copper prospect", which he turned into "an impressiveopen-pit and satellite cave (the Veteran Mine)." Jackling went on to become president of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company.[6]
By 1910 the settlement was already established a small distance from the first site. Ruth was acompany town for theNevada Consolidated Copper Company: the houses belonged to the mine and the city and were administered by them.Saloons andbordellos were not permitted in the company town but were plentiful in the neighboring community of Riepetown.
A mine explosion in Ruth on July 12, 1912, killed ten people. In 1929 there was another explosion set off by dynamite blasts. 2 men were killed with a third injured. One of the killed men was Giovanni Simonetta fromCortale, Italy.[7]
In 1919 Ruth was the site of a labor dispute when 150 copper miners walked out demanding higher wages. Although some claimed the strike was instigated by theIndustrial Workers of the World the leaders were actually from theWestern Federation of Miners.[8]
At the beginning of theGreat Depression, Ruth had almost 2,300 inhabitants.[9]
Nevada Consolidated Copper Co. was taken over by Kennecott Copper Corporation in 1933.[7]
Ruth ceased being a company town in 1955 when the houses were sold to theJohn W. Galbreath Company. Occupants were given the opportunity to purchase the homes they had been renting. Around this time the community was moved two miles north to make way for expansion of the Deep Ruth mine.[7]
In 1978 Kennecott closed the mines in Ruth,[10] which went into decline. The elementary school closed in 1986.
BHP reopened the mine in 1996. From 1996 to 1999, theBHP Nevada Railroad was based here. The mine closed again in 1999.
Quadra FNX Mining reopened theRobinson Mine in 2004, and it is still in full production as of 2022.
TheNevada Northern Railway Museum maintains some track in the area.
Ruth was featured in the fourth season of theNetflix original seriesStranger Things as the location of the NINA project, which is housed in a converted missile silo.[11]
Ruth is the inspiration for theStephen King novelDesperation.[12]
Ruth experiences asemi-arid climate (Bsk) with hot summers and cold winters, typical of most small towns in theGreat Basin. Due to Ruth's substantial elevation and aridity, thediurnal temperature variation is large. Nights are cool, even in the summer, and frosts can occur any time of the year, although rare in summer months. Daytime highs in the winter tend to be a few degrees above freezing, but nights can be bitterly cold.
| Climate data for Ruth, Nevada, 1991–2020 normals, 1958-2020 extremes: 6858ft (2090m) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 62 (17) | 68 (20) | 75 (24) | 80 (27) | 88 (31) | 94 (34) | 100 (38) | 96 (36) | 95 (35) | 86 (30) | 80 (27) | 64 (18) | 100 (38) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 53 (12) | 54 (12) | 62 (17) | 70 (21) | 79 (26) | 87 (31) | 92 (33) | 89 (32) | 85 (29) | 76 (24) | 65 (18) | 53 (12) | 92 (33) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 37.7 (3.2) | 40.2 (4.6) | 47.1 (8.4) | 54.0 (12.2) | 64.3 (17.9) | 75.7 (24.3) | 83.9 (28.8) | 82.3 (27.9) | 74.6 (23.7) | 61.4 (16.3) | 47.0 (8.3) | 37.4 (3.0) | 58.8 (14.9) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 23.4 (−4.8) | 25.8 (−3.4) | 32.9 (0.5) | 39.2 (4.0) | 48.3 (9.1) | 57.9 (14.4) | 65.6 (18.7) | 63.9 (17.7) | 55.1 (12.8) | 43.0 (6.1) | 31.5 (−0.3) | 22.4 (−5.3) | 42.4 (5.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 9.0 (−12.8) | 11.5 (−11.4) | 18.7 (−7.4) | 24.3 (−4.3) | 32.3 (0.2) | 40.1 (4.5) | 47.3 (8.5) | 45.6 (7.6) | 35.6 (2.0) | 24.6 (−4.1) | 15.9 (−8.9) | 7.4 (−13.7) | 26.0 (−3.3) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −15 (−26) | −10 (−23) | −1 (−18) | 10 (−12) | 18 (−8) | 27 (−3) | 35 (2) | 33 (1) | 22 (−6) | 11 (−12) | −3 (−19) | −13 (−25) | −19 (−28) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −30 (−34) | −31 (−35) | −19 (−28) | −12 (−24) | 5 (−15) | 18 (−8) | 18 (−8) | 22 (−6) | 12 (−11) | −6 (−21) | −22 (−30) | −34 (−37) | −34 (−37) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 0.97 (25) | 1.09 (28) | 1.13 (29) | 1.34 (34) | 1.51 (38) | 0.85 (22) | 1.02 (26) | 0.73 (19) | 1.02 (26) | 1.11 (28) | 0.89 (23) | 0.92 (23) | 12.58 (321) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 13.10 (33.3) | 12.40 (31.5) | 10.10 (25.7) | 5.50 (14.0) | 1.30 (3.3) | 0.00 (0.00) | 0.00 (0.00) | 0.00 (0.00) | 0.30 (0.76) | 1.80 (4.6) | 6.10 (15.5) | 13.30 (33.8) | 63.9 (162.46) |
| Source 1: NOAA[14] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: XMACIS2 (records)[15] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Moorman Ranch - Ruth 16WNW, Nevada, 1991–2020 normals: 6539ft (1993m) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 62 (17) | 69 (21) | 76 (24) | 81 (27) | 90 (32) | 98 (37) | 100 (38) | 97 (36) | 93 (34) | 87 (31) | 74 (23) | 65 (18) | 100 (38) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 52 (11) | 54 (12) | 65 (18) | 73 (23) | 82 (28) | 91 (33) | 95 (35) | 92 (33) | 87 (31) | 77 (25) | 67 (19) | 54 (12) | 96 (36) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 38.7 (3.7) | 41.2 (5.1) | 48.7 (9.3) | 54.8 (12.7) | 65.2 (18.4) | 76.6 (24.8) | 85.5 (29.7) | 83.8 (28.8) | 75.4 (24.1) | 62.2 (16.8) | 48.0 (8.9) | 37.9 (3.3) | 59.8 (15.5) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 25.4 (−3.7) | 27.3 (−2.6) | 34.5 (1.4) | 39.8 (4.3) | 48.3 (9.1) | 57.8 (14.3) | 66.5 (19.2) | 64.6 (18.1) | 56.1 (13.4) | 44.6 (7.0) | 32.8 (0.4) | 24.0 (−4.4) | 43.5 (6.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 12.1 (−11.1) | 13.5 (−10.3) | 20.3 (−6.5) | 24.9 (−3.9) | 31.4 (−0.3) | 39.0 (3.9) | 47.4 (8.6) | 45.5 (7.5) | 36.8 (2.7) | 27.0 (−2.8) | 17.7 (−7.9) | 10.1 (−12.2) | 27.1 (−2.7) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −10 (−23) | −4 (−20) | 4 (−16) | 14 (−10) | 22 (−6) | 29 (−2) | 40 (4) | 38 (3) | 27 (−3) | 15 (−9) | 2 (−17) | −9 (−23) | −13 (−25) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −22 (−30) | −18 (−28) | −8 (−22) | 8 (−13) | 13 (−11) | 23 (−5) | 34 (1) | 34 (1) | 21 (−6) | −4 (−20) | −16 (−27) | −20 (−29) | −22 (−30) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 0.79 (20) | 0.77 (20) | 0.90 (23) | 1.07 (27) | 1.23 (31) | 0.46 (12) | 0.68 (17) | 0.79 (20) | 0.81 (21) | 0.72 (18) | 0.55 (14) | 0.69 (18) | 9.46 (241) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 7.50 (19.1) | 7.80 (19.8) | 8.00 (20.3) | 4.40 (11.2) | 1.20 (3.0) | 0.00 (0.00) | 0.00 (0.00) | 0.00 (0.00) | 0.20 (0.51) | 0.40 (1.0) | 4.40 (11.2) | 10.30 (26.2) | 44.2 (112.31) |
| Source 1: NOAA[16] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: XMACIS2 (records)[15] | |||||||||||||
Municipalities and communities ofWhite Pine County, Nevada,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| City |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Indian reservations | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |