Category: Ghost Towns

Ghost towns are fun places to explore and commonly great destinations for a 4×4 trip.

Rhyolite Nevada – Nye County Ghost Town

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Rhyolite is a ghost town location just outside of the Eastern edge of Death Valley National monument in Nye country, Nevada.  Founded in 1904 by Frank “Shorty” Harris when he discovered quartz with load of “Free Gold”, Rhyolite started as a gold mining camp in the surrounding Bullfrog mining district. As with many discovery’s during this time period, news quickly circulated and the Bullfrog mining district was formed.

Rhyolite, Nevada photo by James L Rathbun
Rhyolite, Nevada photo by James L Rathbun
Cook Bank Building, Rhyolite Nevada, Photo marked 1908 and "Courtesy of the Nevada Historical Society"
Cook Bank Building, Rhyolite Nevada, Photo marked 1908 and “Courtesy of the Nevada Historical Society”

Assays of $3000 per ton were reported by the mining press of the day, and the fall and winter saw many people converge on the area despite the weather conditions. Tonopah and Goldfield saw hundreds head south in the spring of 1905, and the migration caused “a string of dust a hundred miles long”.

It is an encouraging sign that the Ryolite Jail still stands. Also noteworthy, a brothel crib still stands as well.
It is an encouraging sign that the Ryolite Jail still stands. Also noteworthy, a brothel crib still stands as well.

The townsite of Rhyolite was found in a draw close to the most important mines in February, 1905. To start, the town was a mining camp with tents and canvas walled building. Fuel shortages caused the populous to burn sage brush and greasewood as fuel for their stoves to cook and keep warm. Food and fuel were teamed into the area on daily stages and water was bought over from Beatty for $5 per barrel.

A train caboose as found in Rhyolite, Nevada - Photo by James L Rathbun
A train caboose as found in Rhyolite, Nevada – Photo by James L Rathbun

However, as was common with gold rush towns, Rhyolite quickly developed all of the modern amenities of day, including newspapers, schools, hospitals and electrical power. Six thousand people called the town home in 1907. Luxuries unimaginable just two years before include, hotel rooms with private baths, and opera house, dozens of saloons, four banks, and a butcher shop were brought to the town by three different trains.

The mines of Rhyolite, Nevada operated from 1905 - 1911
The mines of Rhyolite, Nevada operated from 1905 – 1911

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and a financial panic of 1907 dried up capital investment which doomed the town along with many others in the region. Rhyolite ceased to be and closed in 1911.  

Today, several building shells still exist, along with the infamous Bottle House, and outdoor museum.  The town is accessible via paved roads, which ruins the “ghosttown” effect and detracts a bit from the location.  In spite of this, it is easily accessible and worth a stop when you are in the area.

“The Last Supper” and other art pieces hold court just outside of Rhyolite

Rhyolite is a wonderful place to visit when you are running Titus Canyon and Leadfield trail.

Rhyolite, Nevada 1909
Rhyolite, Nevada 1909
Cook Bank Building, Rhyolite Nevada, Photo marked 1908 and "Courtesy of the Nevada Historical Society"
Cook Bank Building, Rhyolite Nevada, Photo marked 1908 and “Courtesy of the Nevada Historical Society”

Rhyolite Town Summary

NameRhyolite
LocationNye County
NewspaperRhyolite Herald May 25, 1905-Apr 26, 1907; Oct 11, 1907-June 22, 1912; Mar 1909 Special Ed
Rhyolite Daily Bulletin Sept 23, 1907 – May 31, 1909
Death Valley Prospector Nov – Dec 1907

Rhyolite Map

Rhyolite Points of Interest

Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad in Rhyolite

Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad

The Bullfrog and Goldfield Railroad, often referred to as the B&G Railroad, played a significant role in the late 19th and early 20th-century mining boom…
Rhyolite, Nevada photo by James L Rathbun

Cook Bank Building

The Cook Bank Building is the most iconic image and popular images of the Rhyolite ghost town, in Nye County, Nevada. When John S. Cook…
Rhyolite Train Depot is located at the north end of town in Rhyolite, Nye County, Nevada. - Photo by James L Rathbun

Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad

The Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad was a standard gauge railroad which operated along 197 miles between the town of Las Vegas and Goldfield, NV.…
Overbury Building, Rhylote, Nevada. - Photograph by James L Rathbun

Overbury Building

The Overbury building is a general office building built by John Overbury, in Rhyolite, Nye County Nevada in 1906. The building was one of two…
Porter Brothers store front in Phyolite, Nevada - Photo by James L Rathbun

Porter Brothers Store

The Porter Brothers store is a ruined storefront on the main street in the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nye County, Nevada. The Porter Brothers were…
Rhyolite Train Depot is located at the north end of town in Rhyolite, Nye County, Nevada. - Photo by James L Rathbun

Rhyolite Train Depot

The town of Rhyolite boasted three train services using the Rhyolite Train Depot which is completed in June, 1908. The depot services the Las Vegas…

Rhyolite Personalities

Frank "Shorty" Harris

Frank “Shorty” Harris

Frank Harris was a prospector, desert rat and perhaps the best known character in western mining history. He looked the part, often travelling the desert…
James Crysanthus Phelan

James Crysanthus Phelan – Rhyolite Shopkeeper

James Crysanthus Phelan James Crysanthus Phelan was a business man and early pioneer of the desert southwest, who like many others followed the boom towns…
John S Cook overseeing bars of gold bullion. Photo Goldfield Historical Society

John S Cook

John S Cook overseeing bars of gold bullion. Photo Goldfield Historical Society John S Cook is the founder and builder of the Cook Bank Building…
Walter Scott (1872 - 1954)

Walter Edward Perry Scott – “Death Valley Scotty”

Walter Edward Perry Scott  (September 20, 1872 – January 5, 1954), also known as "Death Valley Scotty", was a miner, prospector and conman who operated…

Further Reading

Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps - By Stanley W. Paher

Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps

Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps - By Stanley W. Paher Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps is a wonderful book written by Stanley W.…

Resources

St Thomas Nevada – Clark County Ghost Town

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Founded in 1865 when Brigham Young sent settles to the confluence of the Virgin River and Muddy Rivers.  St Thomas Nevada remained a Mormon settlement until 1871 when a surveying correction placed the town in Nevada.   When the Mormons abandoned the area, other settlers claimed the property.  St Thomas used to served as a pit stop for travelers between Los Angeles, California and Salt Lake City, Utah using along the old Arrow Highway (US 91).

St Thomas Ghost Town is accessible with lower water levels in Lake Mead, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada
St Thomas Ghost Town is accessible with lower water levels in Lake Mead, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada

The United States Federal Government “purchased” the land as part of the Hoover Dam project.  In actuality, there were multiple suits as the residents of St. Thomas raise complaints about the amount the federal government was paying for their land.  In time, the residence lost and the entire town was doomed to its destiny and the water of Lake Mead continued to rise.

St Thomas Trail head
St Thomas Trail head

The last known resident as Hugh Lord, who remained until the water surrounded his home.  He loaded is possessions into a row boat, set fire to his home, and rowed off into history.  Soon the rising water of Lake Mead swallowed the entire down, and wasted the landscape with water 60 feet deep.  From time to time, the lake level will drop low enough to expose this lost town.

The town is currently exposed, and lies in the lake bed surrounded by a large expanse of tamarisk.  The dirt road to the trail-head is located just inside the entrance to Lake Mead National Recreation Area when coming from Moapa and Overton and the trail is beyond simple and suitable for almost every vehicle.

Fresh Water Clam shells litter the area
Fresh Water Clam shells litter the area

The 2.5 miles hiking trail is very easy and takes you from the trail-head and loops through the town.  The trail would be a bit more difficult if you attempt the trail during the hot summer months.  Remains of the town are limited to foundations, some old wood fence posts and some metal artifacts such as farming equipment and a V-8 small block.  The park service appears to cut the tamarisk back to expose the foundations for visitors, however the cut off tamarisk trucks can be a tripping hazard and would be harsh it you fell on one, so keep in eye on where you step.

A building foundation in St. Thomas, Nevada
A building foundation in St. Thomas

I have been to many ghost towns over the years.  Many of them lost in history due to mines failing to produce, fire, hard environments and disease.  St Thomas is different from all the others.  This is a ghost town by design, by protest and there is no better reminder than the fresh water clam shells which litter the site.  The fact that there are viable towns (Moapa and Overton) just a few miles away make St Thomas all the more poignant.

The tallest building remains of St. Thomas,
The tallest building remains of St. Thomas

St Thomas Trail Map

Aurora Nevada – Mineral County Ghost Town

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Aurora, Nevada is a ghost town in Mineral County about twenty eight miles southwest of Hawthorne, near the California border. Aurora is often mentioned as a footnote to larger better preserved town on Bodie, CA located just a few miles away.  Like most unprotected ghost towns today the town site is a just a remnant of its past, having lost much through heavy damage from vandals over the years.

The road leading into Aurora was once a 4×4 road and difficult to make it back into Aurora. Often the winter snows and spring rains rutted out the road leading to the town.

Aurora, CA photograph from the 1930's
Aurora, CA photograph from the 1930’s

Aurora was founded in 1860 by J.M Corey, James N Braley, and E.R Hicks while prospecting south west towards Mono Lake.  The “Eureka” moment came when gold and silver quartz was found while searching for water and game. Soon the word was out, and a migration of miners came up from Monoville and several other California towns.  Like many boom towns, Auroras population reach about 1,400 by 1861 and just one year later was almost 6,000.  Aurora boaster an 8 position stamp mill and the ore was hauled from the town via Wells, Fargo and Company. The town was constructed mainly from brick, as wood is a scare and finite resource in the area.

Aurora, Nevada as it existed in the 1800s
Aurora, Nevada as it existed in the 1800s

The Esmeralda Star was the town paper when the town reach is maximum population of 10,000. Life is town was rough and conditions were very harsh.   The territories of both California and Nevada tried to lay claim to the newly prized Aurora and in the spring of 1861, Mono County was founded by California, which fixed the seat of the county in the little town of Aurora.  Not to be outdown, in November of 1861, Nevada setup the head quarters of Esmeralda County in Aurora.  This dual county seat arrangement lasted for two years during which time both California and Nevada maintained two different county and exercised jurisdiction concurrently.

Aurora after 1910, when the town was first connected to electrical power.
Aurora after 1910, when the town was first connected to electrical power.

To settle the issue, Nevada and California jointly commissioned a survey to finally settle the issue and established the location of the border.  During the elections held in September 1863 Aurora had the distinction of voting in two elections.  The Mono County voting was held in the police station and voters could walk over to Armory Hall to vote in the Esmeralda county elections for Nevada.  Three weeks after the election, the survey results came in and Aurora was officially 4 miles inside the state of Nevada.  The Mono County Officials loaded up their records and assets into Wagons and moved the seat to Bodie, CA some 10 miles to the south west.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens September 1-2, 1867, Pera, Constantinople
Samuel Langhorne Clemens September 1-2, 1867, Pera, Constantinople

1862 found a young Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) in town for several months looking the make his fortune.  During his stay he worked as a laborer in the stamp mill for $10 a week including board.  The young Mr. Clemens quickly gave up mining and sent several lively sketches to the Territorial Enterprise located in Virginia City.  Several weeks later Samual Clemens was hired by the Enterprise where he adopted his pen name, and Mark Twain was born.

Today there is not much standing at Aurora
Today there is not much standing at Aurora

In 1863 Aurora is pictured as a cluster of huts made of stone, sheltered by canvas or tin roofs, with streets of wooden buildings , and many substantial brick structures near the center of town, and uncountable tents and dugouts in the surrounding hils. About 5,000 persons lived in these makeshift shelters and in the 700 houses, and enjoyed the services provided by the hotels , churches, 20 stores, 22 saloons and 16 quartz mills .

National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form – July 30, 1974

As with many gold towns, Aurora life was bright and short. Shallow mines could not support the town of 22 saloons and 20 stores and mismanagement and poor investments doomed the small town.  There was virtually no family life in the town. Prostitutes made up over 50% of the female population and by 1870 the gold and silver was gone, and the town soon faltered officially closing the post office in 1897.

A resurgence of Aurora started in 1906 when mining resumed in the area.  A post office was again opened to serve several hundred people, and a weekly called the Aurora Borealis was the paper of record.  During the revitalization of Aurora, the Aurora Consolidated Mining Co. claimed 1.8 million dollars in gold during World War I.  However, in 1919 the post office closed again and the town faded into history.  After World War II much of the brick town was demolished to satisfy the demand for the used brick market in 1946.

Remains of Aurora bricks found deep in the undergrowth.
Remains of Aurora bricks found deep in the undergrowth.

The site of Aurora is all but gone and consisting of little more than a cross roads, a cemetery and a few foundations.

Aurora Town Summary

NameAurora
LocationMineral County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude38.2871421, -118.9006963
GNIS858760
Elevation7400 feet
Post Office – 1919
NewpapersEsmeralda Star May 17, July 5, Sept 20, 1862; Nov 18, Dec 30, 1863
Aurora Daily Times Nov 27, 28, 30, Dec 1, 9, 11, 12, 1863; July 11, Oct 7, 1864
Esmeralda Daily Union Mar 23, 1864 – Mar 15, 1865; Nov 27, 1867 – Oct 3, 1868
Esmeralda Herald Oct 20, 1877 – July 29, 1882; Aug 18, 1883 – Apr 19, 1884
Aurora Borealis Dec 3, 1905

Aurora Trail Map

Aurora Personalities

Samuel Langhorne Clemens September 1-2, 1867, Pera, Constantinople

Samuel Langhorne Clemens – “Mark Twain”

Before he wrote American classic novels as Mark Twain, Samuel Langhorne Clemens was a miner and newpaper reporter in Mineral County, Nevada. Prior to picking…

Further Reading

Aurora, Nevada 1860-1960: Mining Camp, Frontier City, Ghost Town

This expanded Second Edition of Aurora, Nevada 1860-1960 chronicles the history of one of Nevada’s earliest and most important mining boomtowns. It is a reference-oriented…
Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps - By Stanley W. Paher

Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps

Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps - By Stanley W. Paher Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps is a wonderful book written by Stanley W.…

Resources

Alamo Crossing Mohave County Ghost Town

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Alamo Crossing is a submerged ghost town hidden beneath the waters of Alamo Lake, Mohave County, Arizona.

Alamo Crossing, Mohave County Arizona
Alamo Crossing, Mohave County Arizona

The town is founded by Tom Rogers about 1899. The little hamlet served as a small mining community to transient prospectors with most of the population camping out. During its heyday, the town only consisted of a five-stamp mill, a few stores and a post office. The town’s population is never known to be significant.

In 1968, an earth filled damn is constructed along the Bill Williams River by the Army Corp of Engineers for flood control. The 283 foot tall damn caused the formation of Lake Alamo, which is about 80 feet deep. The remains of Alamo Crossing still lie in the waters of the lake. Scuba gear is required to explore the remains. The town site was believed to be one of the best preserved ghost towns in the county, prior to flooding.

In 2020, the area surrounding Alamo is revived for mining again, this time for placer gold prospecting.

Trail Map

Town Summary

NameAlamo Crossing
Also Known AsAlimo,
LocationAbout 60 miles northwest of Wickenberg on Bill Williams River, Mohave County, Arizona
Latitude, Longitude34.2605, -113.5827
Elevation1,237 ft (377 m)
GNIS25299
Post officeNovember 13, 1889 – December 15, 1900
March 30, 1911 – 1918 Alamo

References

Belleville California – San Bernardino County Ghost Town

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The cabin at the Belleville California townsite is not original but moved to the location to represent the style of the structures of the town.
The cabin at the Belleville California townsite is not original but moved to the location to represent the style of the structures of the town.


Belleville is a historic community located in the Holcomb Valley region of San Bernardino County, California. The area’s history dates back to the mid-19th century when it played a significant role in the California Gold Rush.

Holcomb Valley, where Belleville is situated, was discovered to be rich in gold deposits in 1860. The news quickly spread, and a gold rush ensued as prospectors from all over flocked to the area in search of their fortunes. The population of the valley boomed, and various mining camps and settlements sprang up, including Belleville.

Belleville was founded in 1860 and named after James V. Belleville, one of the early prospectors in the area. The town rapidly grew and became a central hub for the Holcomb Valley mining district. It served as a supply center for nearby mining operations, providing essential goods and services to miners and their families.

The town boasted several businesses, including general stores, saloons, hotels, and blacksmith shops. It also had a post office, which opened in 1863. Belleville’s population reached its peak during the 1860s, with estimates ranging from a few hundred to over a thousand residents.

The remains of an Arrastres located in Belleville, San Bernardino, CA
The remains of an Arrastres located in Belleville, San Bernardino, CA

Mining was the primary economic activity in Belleville and the surrounding Holcomb Valley. Miners used various methods to extract gold from the area, including placer mining and hydraulic mining. Placer mining involved using pans, rockers, and sluices to separate gold from the gravel and sand of the valley floor. Hydraulic mining utilized high-pressure water jets to wash away hillsides and expose gold-bearing gravels.

However, the gold production in Holcomb Valley began to decline in the late 1860s, and by the 1870s, many miners had moved on to other gold fields. As the gold rush subsided, so did the population of Belleville. The town gradually declined, and most of its buildings were dismantled or moved to other locations.

Today, little remains of Belleville and the once-thriving mining operations of Holcomb Valley. Some remnants of mining structures, such as mine shafts and tunnels, can still be found in the area. The site of Belleville itself is marked by a historical marker, providing a glimpse into the region’s rich mining heritage.

Belleville Historic Monument
Belleville Historic Monument

Belleville Town Summary

NameBelleville
LocationHolcomb Valley, San Bernardino, CA
Latitude, Longitude34.3012, -116.8857
Elevation7,355 Feet
GNIS
Population1,500
Gold Fever Trail Marker7

Belleville Trail Map

References