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.
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”.
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.
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 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.
Rhyolite is a wonderful place to visit when you are running Titus Canyon and Leadfield trail.
Rhyolite Town Summary
| Name | Rhyolite |
| Location | Nye County |
| Newspaper | Rhyolite 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 RailroadThe 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… |
 Cook Bank BuildingThe Cook Bank Building is the most iconic image and popular images of the Rhyolite ghost town, in Nye County, Nevada. When John S. Cook… |
 Las Vegas and Tonopah RailroadThe 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 BuildingThe 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 StoreThe 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 DepotThe 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” HarrisFrank 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 – Rhyolite ShopkeeperJames 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 CookJohn 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 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 CampsNevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps - By Stanley W. Paher Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps is a wonderful book written by Stanley W.… |
Resources
- Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps, Stanley W Paher
- Wikipedia
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