Located at the northern end of Amargosa Desert, Bullfrog is a ghost town in Nye County, Nevada. The Bullfrog mine was discovered on August 9, 1904 by Frank “Shorty” Harris and Eddie Cross. This discovery lead to many new townsites being platted out in the following seven months. It is said that Ed sold his interest in the claim for $125,000. Shorty Harris claimed to have discovered that he sold him claim during a 6 day celebration. Claims where made for miles surrounding the original mines.
The name Bullfrog was chosen either because Eddie Cross was fond of singing ‘O, the bulldog on the bank and the bullfrog in the pool…’ or due to the ore rich gold ore sample was green and frog-shaped.
Regardless, Bullfrog was the towns name and quickly grew to a population of 1,000. The town supported post offices, newspapers, telephones, hotels, saloons and all of the common businesses which appeared in these dusty destinations in the desert. Advertisements from Los Angeles promoted the town as a new metropolis in Nevada and “The Greatest Gold Camp in the World”.
The formation of the town of Rhyolite led to a brief and wild race for commercial viability and supremacy. By 1906, Rhyolite succeeded and businesses in Bullfrog either closed or moved up to Rhyolite on wagons. Despite this blow, Bullfrog continued on for another three years before its inevitable collapse in 1909.
Bullfrog (eights months old) has post office, express, telegraph and telephone facilities, a $20,000 hotel, a $50,000 water system, a thoroughly equipped pavilion, one of the best equipped banks in the state, an electric light plant in process of construction, a newspaper, population of 1,000
1905 Advertisement – The Los Angeles-Bullfrog Realty & Investment Co.
Today, the town site has little to show of its past. Again, it is superseded to its neighbor up the valley. A small cemetery still exists to mark the lives of those who lived and died there.
Town Summary
| Name | Bullfrog Nevada |
| Location | Nye County, Nevada |
| Latitude, Longitude | 36.890278, -116.833611 |
| Elevation | 3,580 Feet |
| Population | 1,000 |
| Post Office | 1905 – 1909 |
| Newspaper | Bullfrog Miner Mar 31, 1905 – Sept 25, 1909 |
Bullfrog Nevada Trail Map
Bullfrog 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… |
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