Bonnie Claire Nevada – A Nye County Ghost Town

Located off highway 267 East of Death Valley National Park Gold, Bonnie Clarie Nevada is a mine site and ghost town that is easy to explore from the highway in Nye County, Nevada.   Bonnie Claire began life with a 5 stamp mill located in Thorp’s Well,  in the early 1880s.  The mill in Thorp’s Well processed ore for three active mines in the area for twenty years.  At this point, the mill was purchased by the Bonnie Clarie Bullfrog Mining Company to process materials from the Gold Mountain District.

Long Team in front of the Bonnie Claire Mine, Nevada
Long Team in front of the Bonnie Claire Mine, Nevada

In 1904 a second Mill, the Bonnie Claire mill, was built near the stage stop in Thorp which service travelers from Goldfield and Bullfrog and a post office followed in 1905.

The railroad reached the area in 1906 and the Bonnie Claire Nevada townsite was founded.   First a tent city house the population until 1907 when the first wooden structures were built which hosted 100 people and several saloons.  The location languished with the founding of Rhyolite to the south.  The town survived serveral years past it prime and served to ship building materials for Scotty’s Castle.

Bonnie Claire Trail Map

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