7 Abandoned Ghost Towns in Nevada

 “THERE’S GOLD IN THEM THAR HILLS!”

It does not take much more than this simple exclamation to lure hundreds of thousands of prosperity seekers deep into the deserts and wilds of America. From around 1850 until the early 1900s, mining camps and settlements blossomed up and vanished in Nevada leaving only stories and ruins as proof of their existence. This is how the Nevada's ghost towns came to be. By the 1920s, film studios had realized the cinematic value of these tumbleweed towns, and Hollywood cemented into American imagination the lawless days of mineral riches and western suspense. To that end the question remains, what does remain of those ancient towns? These seven ghost towns of Nevada stand as the last trace of that grand American era.

Nelson

Forty kilometers south of Boulder City sits a peculiar canyon, hosting modern-day Nelson. Nelson sits in an area named Eldorado, by Spaniards in 1775 who had discovered gold. During the Civil war, it was common for deserters from either army to find their way to Nelson, hoping to escape the persistent eyes of Union and Confederate authorities. The Eldorado canyon earned a reputation for lawlessness due to frequent killings, so much so that the name “Nelson” stems from a camp leader slain in his home alongside four others by an Indigenous American. Before a flood destroyed the town in 1974, Nelson became a common filming location that still hosts the carcasses of airplane props and western-themed sets. The mine itself is frequently explored, but the bottom of the cavern is reported to be flooded. If one were to visit Nelson in its heyday, it would be best they watched their step and their mouth!

Rhyolite

For many of these towns, a signifier of success included several features: a mill to process the ore (which needs water), a railroad connection, a bank, a church, a school, and most essentially: post offices and newspapers. Rhyolite, a town that had all this and more, began after a 1905 prospecting discovery. Sheltered in the bullfrog hills, aptly named for yellow specked green rocks resembling a frog’s back, the settlement sits 190 kilometers northwest of Las Vegas. Saloons, water and electric infrastructure, an opera house, a stock exchange, concrete sidewalks, and even police and fire departments existed to serve the budding population of 4000 company men and treasure seekers. Earthquakes and a stock crash abruptly ended the experiment in 1907, leaving the ruins of an expensive marble bank and a home constructed entirely from bottles. Worth checking out are the ruins of the train depot and informative plaques placed here and there to guide wandering souls.

Belmont

Belmont, established in 1865 after a silver discovery, is the story of yet another 5-year economic project which ultimately ended after the mines closed in 1887. The likely population maximum would be around 2000 during the 1870s, and these residents were supported by stores, saloons, restaurants, a stable, and a blacksmith. The brickwork for the courthouse still stands, as well as a mine and mill, and even an old saloon. Little ruins of stone buildings pepper the area, amongst wild horses that occasionally bless visitors with their nomadic grandeur. Interestingly, the fortunes of this town relied upon the dynamic price of the various metals being produced, ever-teetering the delicate balance of rags and riches. A little eerie at night and hosting an iconic midwestern church, visitors to Belmont enjoy meeting the few residents that still live here, including the group operating a saloon established in 1866.

Metropolis 

Tucked away in northeast Nevada lie the old ruins of Metropolis. The city started as a farming project rather than a mining attempt after Harry Pierce convinced investors with a dream of creating an agricultural hub in the Nevada Basin during the 1900s. Initially, the town had some success thanks to abnormal years of high precipitation, however Pierce failed to gain water rights and the security of a dam-filled reservoir, so the 700 population town attempted dry farming wheat. Crickets, ravenous jackrabbits (brought about by citizens eradicating coyotes), and drought guaranteed the slow demise of this town, which had included an elaborate hotel and an amusement hall that had primarily been used for Mormon meetings. Visitors explore the old hotel ruins while they enjoy the serenity of this quiet place that was the home to many a proud family, and still is, in the form of a well-maintained cemetery.

Gold Point

With a current population of 7 and a former 1910 population of 1000, Gold Point embodies the aftermath of a dream built on sand and gold. Originally dubbed “Lime Point” for the existence of an 1880s camp adjacent to a limestone outcrop, the small area became known as Hornsilver after silver was spotted in the area in 1902. Following this tradition, Charles Stoneham of the New York Giants purchased the primary mine in 1922, discovered gold, and the area was renamed “Gold Point.” The town managed to produce value during the Great Depression, but production was halted when the American Government ordered the prioritization of World War 2 efforts. A dynamite-caused cave in of the mine in the 1960s sealed the fate of Gold Point. Today, nearly 50 buildings still stand with annual events involving chili, live music, western gunfights, and electrical hookups for RV vehicles. Nearby watering holes, indigenous petroglyphs, and wild horses are of significant interest to all guests of this time-forgotten place.

Blair

Consisting today of semi-solid remains of stone buildings and the foundation of an old mill, Blair sits in the path of an exquisite view of Cinder Cone volcano. Built into the side of a hill, the Blair mill was the largest ore processing facility in Nevada, and the nearby town hosted a post office. Sadly, the town was another short-lived venture having begun a little before 1906 and then becoming more permanently abandoned by 1920. Silver Peak Post was brave enough to relocate to Blair and rename themselves “Blair Booster” only to fail by 1906. Much of the collapse can be attributed to land prices marked artificially high, once again the fault of ambitious land speculators. A historical marker for Blair rests north of Silver Peak along route 265 in Esmeralda County.

Delamar

On the eastern side of Delamar Valley, located in Central Eastern Nevada, lay the remains of the great town of Delamar. In 1889, several prospectors stumbled upon gold, and hordes of hopefuls descended upon the area. The town earned the nickname “Widowmaker” because much of the gold was extracted from quartzite, which when pulverized into dust and inhaled, can cause a lethal case of silicosis. A fire swallowed up the town in 1900, and it was finally abandoned by 1941. Part of the reason for the trouble, despite the lucrative ore lying just below the surface, was due to the difficulty in pumping water from a well 12 miles away. Furthermore, hauling in materials over the mountains by mule from the Milford railroad 150 miles away was simply unsustainable. A few graveyards and mines dot the Delamar grounds, although brick pillars and magnificent wooden beams are left waiting to be discovered and praised for what they once were.

In the past century, each of these seven ghost towns has disappeared more and more into the landscapes they once stood proudly atop. Vast arrays of machinery and industry coated what visitors now see as barren wastelands. The humbling reality is that without maintaining local ecosystems and thus the value of the surrounding land, even modern-day cities are susceptible to such decay. Many visitors to these abandoned sites experience a surprising amount of nostalgia for an era they only witnessed through the eyes of Hollywood or the sparse memoirs of original pilgrims. Perhaps the familiarity comes from the fact that even modern visitors are privy to the same passions that spurred on the 19th-century gold rush.