Reaching its peak at the beginning of the 20th century, Berlin's population topped out with just over a few hundred hardy miners and entrepreneurs. Pushed into production by the Nevada Company in 1898, the mining town soon offered a wide mix of shops and conveniences. Today, the town's silver mine, shops and resident homes still cover the mountainside along the Shoshone Range in west-central Nevada. This remarkably well preserved cluster of wooden buildings has survived the last 100 years, offering great insight into a turn-of-the-century mining town.
   This view of the Berlin Cemetery looks out over the broad Ione Valley. By October, icy winds begin to whip across the valley, giving a strong warning that the winter ahead will be bitter cold and extremely unpleasant. The frigid autumn weather and work at 7000 feet elevation tested the strength and will of these townspeople, and the cemetery is a stark reminder that precious ore came at a high cost.
   A keen eye may detect Nevada Route 844 in the background of this scene as a faint streak across the valley floor. Located about 50 miles southeast of U.S. Route 50 (the loneliest road in America), the Berlin - Ichthyosaur State Park is a unique blend of the Berlin and Union ghost towns, and a Triassic-period fossilized ichthyosaur. Established in 1957, the Nevada park houses a complete ghost town and a huge marine reptile fossil in a matrix. Unlike most western ghost towns accessible by 4 wheel drive trails, Berlin’s park road follows a well maintained gravel drive. For those interested in another burial ground, a dirt track climbs through Union Canyon, passed a few remnants of the Union Ghost town and up to the Ichthyosaur exhibit.

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