Hotel Metropolis as it looked in 1912
Hotel Metropolis Today
Lincoln School
The Lower level of the School
One of the many Chalk Boards
In 1909, the idea of building a city and surrounding it with farms looked good to the New York
based Pacific Reclamation Company. The idea was to surround a modern city with over 40,000 acres of farms. Streets, lots and parks were
staked out. A hundred-foot-high dam complete with irrigation canals for the farms and a water distribution system for the town was built.
The Southern Pacific Railroad built an eight mile spur from its main line to a newly constructed, elaborate depot. Massive publicity boasted the sale of dry farm land at $10 to $15 an acre, and irrigated land at $75 an acre. Town lots sold between $100 and $300. By 1912, Metropolis had a post office, several businesses, five saloons and a modern brick hotel(pictured above). A lawsuit from the farmers in nearby Lovelock Valley prevented the Pacific Reclamation Company from using certain creeks in the headwaters of the Humbolt River. Only enough water to irrigate about 4000 acres was allowed by the court. In addition to the court problems, the irrigation system was having its own problems. Some farmers would receive too much water, while others received too little. Due to the water problems, most of the farmers began moving away. By 1925, the Southern Pacific Railroad abandoned its branch. Farming activity steadily decreased. Many buildings were moved to other locations. The post office closed in 1942. What's left of the town is totally abandoned. A few ranches in the area remain active.
Part of the Metropolis Cemetery
An interesting marker
