Broken Hills is a remote ghost town in Mineral County, Nevada (with early references occasionally noting southern Churchill County), located at approximately 39°02′59″N 118°00′37″W and an elevation of 5,371 feet (1,637 m). Situated in the high desert near Gabbs Valley and the Broken Hills range, the site lies about 12 miles from the old mill at Phonolite and 10 miles from water sources in Lodi Valley. Founded as one of Nevada’s later mining camps during the tail end of the state’s great early 20th-century rushes, Broken Hills was primarily a silver-lead mining operation that never fully boomed due to limited claims. It featured a small but functional settlement at its peak, with scattered ruins today—including mine shafts, headframes, debris, and a few decaying structures—serving as a testament to the challenges of desert mining, water scarcity, and speculative promotion.
Early Settlement and Mining Origins (1913–1920)
Silver-lead ore was discovered in 1913 by two English prospectors, Joseph Arthur (sometimes spelled Aurthur) and James Stratford (also Statford or Strathford). The pair had prospected widely across Nevada and quickly secured the most promising claims, laying out a townsite that drew an initial rush of about 25–50 miners within weeks. Contemporary newspaper accounts from April–May 1913 described excitement over “excellent ore” and leases being let, with the camp reachable from Rawhide or near Fairview and Lodi. However, the rush stalled because Arthur and Stratford controlled the best ground, preventing widespread development.
Water had to be hauled 10–14 miles from Lodi Valley at high cost (reportedly 8 cents per gallon or up to $2.50 per barrel), and ore was shipped 12 miles to Bruner’s 50-ton mill at Phonolite for processing. The two men operated the claims themselves from 1913 to 1920, producing around $68,000 in ore (equivalent to roughly $1.1 million today) by the end of the period. They traveled by burro early on but later afforded an automobile from mining proceeds. The camp remained modest, focused on lead-silver veins rather than a major strike.
Boom Period (1915–1920)
Broken Hills reached its modest peak population of a few hundred residents between 1915 and 1920. The settlement included stores, a hotel, saloons, and a one-room schoolhouse (which reportedly served mainly Indian children). A post office opened on December 1, 1920, and operated until October 15, 1921. In 1920, the partners sold their holdings to promoter George Graham Rice and the Broken Hills Silver Corporation. Rice invested heavily in promotion and sold shares, but actual production under new ownership yielded only about $7,000. The company soon collapsed, contributing to the camp’s limited growth despite the brief flurry of activity.
Decline and Revivals (1920s–1930s)
After the 1920 sale and corporate failure, Broken Hills quieted. A revival came in 1926 with a silver rush to nearby Quartz Mountain, prompting the post office to reopen on June 16, 1926 (it closed for good on February 28, 1935). A few stores briefly reopened, and additional claims changed hands. Veteran prospector Matt Costello, for example, sold several groups of claims in 1926 for significant cash (including one for about $1,500) but was found dead at his cabin shortly afterward; he is buried nearby in a marked grave with an iron fence. Mining remained small-scale, with ore still hauled to distant mills. By the 1930 U.S. Census, the population had dropped under 20.
Limited activity continued into the late 1920s and 1930s. In 1936, George M. Lerchen relocated claims (comprising four unpatented sites). From 1935 to 1940, the district produced approximately $180,000 in ore. A 1948 incorporation of the Broken Hills Mining and Milling Company aimed to build a local mill near Gabbs for better economics, but these efforts yielded little sustained success.
Later Activity and Final Decline (1940s–1950s)
By the 1940 U.S. Census, only 12 people remained. Mining persisted on a very small scale into the early 1950s. Maury Stromer, the last longtime resident and subject of accounts by ghost-town historian Nell Murbarger in her 1956 book Ghosts of the Glory Trail, continued hand-mining as an elderly man. In 1950, he was still descending 140 feet into his shaft and hauling up 350 pounds of ore at a time. Stromer finally left in 1952. Occasional minor operations were noted into the 1980s, but the town was effectively abandoned by the mid-20th century.
A 1950 visitor description noted a largely empty camp with one or two houses possibly occupied, and the largest building (once serving as post office and possibly a club or casino) partially destroyed by storms, with old mail and debris scattered inside.
Current Status and Legacy
Broken Hills has remained a ghost town since the 1950s, with visible remnants including mine shafts, headframes, small outbuildings, tailings, and scattered mining debris. The site is remote but accessible via dirt roads in the Gabbs Valley area and occasionally visited by historians and off-road enthusiasts. It exemplifies the boom-and-bust pattern of Nevada’s smaller, late-era mining camps—hyped by prospectors and promoters yet limited by water scarcity, claim disputes, and marginal ore bodies. The story of Arthur, Stratford, Stromer, and Costello highlights the gritty persistence of individual miners in the desert. The area produced modest but real wealth in silver and lead, yet never achieved lasting prosperity. Coordinates for the historic site are approximately 39°02′59″N 118°00′37″W.
Sources: This report is compiled from Nevada ghost town documentation, including Stanley W. Paher’s Nevada Ghost Towns & Mining Camps, Nell Murbarger’s Ghosts of the Glory Trail, Forgotten Nevada, Nevada Expeditions, and Wikipedia summaries cross-referenced with period newspaper accounts and mining records. For further reading, consult Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps by Paher
