Gold was discovered in Seven Troughs Canyon early in 1905. In 1907, a boom ensued when assays of $100,000 a ton was revealed. Miners flocked in , many from the Tonopah and Goldfield areas. In this same year, a townsite was platted out. Regular freight wagons carried supplies to and from the railroad station at Lovelock. In 1911, the "Kindergarten Mill," a 50-ton cyanide processing plant, was built at the east end of the town. By the end of 1907, the townsite was comprised of a post office, several saloons, stores, and a population of around 350.

Seven Troughs produced almost two millions dollars in gold between 1908 and 1921. The town prospered for nearly a decade, then began a rapid decline after 1918, when the ore was depleted. By the 1920s, Seven Troughs was abandoned.