Many gold mines sprung up. Some with towns like Ruby Hill to house the miners.  Silver was discovered in 1864 and the Diamond Springs District was founded.   Mining was the dominant occupation in the county although there were crops raised there as well.

The first crop was raised in 1870 on the Italian Ranch on Hunter Creek, four miles east of the town of Eureka.  Many others followed.

  
Towns of the day included Ruby Hill which had nearly 7000 residents in 1880, Beowawe, and Eureka. Beowawe was basically a train stop. Of these, Eureka is still going strong although with a much smaller population.  Ruby Hill is gone and Beowawe has few inhabitants.

  
The 1990 shows the census for Eureka County to be 1579. At the moment, they are having another mining boom so that may be greater. It still can't rival the towns, the saloons, the bullion that was taken from the area in the late 1800's. There are some good regions for ranching. Much of the land is desert providing only dust.