Carrara, Italy, is well-known for its marble. It has been used since antiquity as a building stone and for statuary. Nevada's Carrara tried to achieve the same fame, but failed.In the early 20th Century, a deposit of metamorphosed limestone that appeared to be marble was found 10 miles southwest of Rhyolite. A quarry operation was established in 1913. The Lidgerwood cableway was named after the prominent manufacturer, who brought blocks from Bare Mountain to Carrara, some 1,400 feet above the ground.The cableway was a continuous loop in which the weight of the quarried blocks descending pulled empty cars up the mountain. After being finished at Carrara, the blocks were sent out by rail. The Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad was connected to what was then the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad at Las Vegas. This railroad village was small. A century ago, Vegas was not a popular place to buy building stones. The LV&T was defunct in 1917 and another railroad, the Tonopah & Tidewater built a spur to Carrara. It was connected to the Santa Fe mainline at Ludlow in California.Carraras peak was from 1915 to 1916. Production was stopped at the end 1917. By 1924, the town had been abandoned in large part. The marble was not of high quality. It was more susceptible to cracking than its Italian nameake, which is extremely uniform. Carrara, at its peak, was just as grandiose than other mining towns, with a city fountain and a luxurious hotel as well as some exquisite residences. Even water was piped in from Gold Center near Rhyolite.Today, little remains. You can see the ruins of the marble finishing plant, along with some old walls or foundations. Some pieces of polished marble are also found around. The modern fencing along the main highway and major side roads are worth mentioning. They are made of fine mesh and have openings measuring about one inch at the base. This is to protect endangered desert tortoises. They have a distressing tendency of wandering onto roads and getting run over.Unrelated ruins can be found about 1.5 miles north of Carrara and 3/4 mile from US-95. These ruins are from the Elizalde cement factory, which dates back to the 1930s. You will also find several photos of the ruins to compare.
