Category: Ghost Towns

Ghost towns in the Western United States are abandoned settlements, often remnants of 19th-century mining, ranching, or railroad booms. Once thriving with prospectors, merchants, and families, these towns, like Bodie, California, or Virginia City, Montana, were deserted when resources depleted or economic shifts occurred, particularly after the 1860s gold and silver rushes. Characterized by dilapidated buildings, saloons, and mine shafts, they dot deserts and mountains, preserved by arid climates. Today, they attract tourists and historians, offering haunting glimpses into the West’s frontier past, shaped by ambition and transience.

Schwab California

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Schwab, also spelled Schwaub, was a short-lived gold mining camp and ghost town in Inyo County, California, situated in the Funeral Mountains on the eastern edge of Death Valley. Located approximately 12 miles north of Ryan at an elevation of 3,389 feet (1,033 m), the townsite lies in Echo Canyon within the Echo-Lee Mining District. Today, it is a largely abandoned site within or near Death Valley National Park, accessible via desert roads best traveled in winter. Little remains beyond scattered ruins, leveled tent sites, piles of rusted tin cans, broken glass, and remnants of the nearby Stray Horse (or Inyo) Mine.

Schwab, California - “In the afternoon the townsite company drinks tea,” Death Valley Chuck-Walla magazine, Vol 2. No. 1, June 1907
Schwab, California – “In the afternoon the townsite company drinks tea,” Death Valley Chuck-Walla magazine, Vol 2. No. 1, June 1907

Founding and Early Development (1905–1906)

The town originated during the intense mining boom that swept the Death Valley region following the 1904 gold strike at Rhyolite, Nevada. Prospectors fanned out in search of extensions of the rich Bullfrog District deposits, including rumored lost mines like the Breyfogle. In January 1905, Mormon prospectors Chet Leavitt and Moroni Hicks discovered a promising quartz ledge known as the Stray Horse in Echo Canyon on the west side of the Funeral Range. Initial assays were disappointing, but a richer vein higher up led them to stake over 20 claims, including the Inyo Mine. They formed the Inyo Gold Mining Company with investors from Provo, Utah.

By late 1905—around Christmas—the townsite began to take shape down Echo Canyon. It was named Schwab in honor of Charles M. Schwab, the prominent American steel magnate (not to be confused with the later financier Charles R. Schwab). Schwab had invested heavily in regional mining ventures, including the nearby Skibo Mining Company (named after his Scottish castle) and claims resembling Rhyolite’s lucrative Montgomery-Shoshone Mine. The townsite was laid out just below the Skibo mine to support workers. Construction accelerated in early 1907, with supplies—including five boxcars of tents and equipment—shipped by rail to the area. A post office opened on March 18, 1907, with Eugene P. Houtz as postmaster (it closed permanently on August 15, 1907).

At its peak, Schwab supported a modest population of around 200 people. It featured basic services: a blacksmith shop, boarding house, general store, bakery, restaurant, and at least one saloon (housed in a tent). Infrastructure included a telephone line connected to Rhyolite via the Lee and Echo camps and a daily stage line. The Echo Miners Union provided some labor organization. The nearby Stray Horse/Inyo Mine served as the economic anchor, though the town primarily functioned as a supply and housing hub for the broader Echo-Lee District.

Unique Governance: The “Women of Schwab” (1907)

One of the most distinctive aspects of Schwab was its ownership and promotion by women—an unusual occurrence in the rough-and-tumble mining camps of the American West. The townsite company was taken over by three women: Gertrude Fesler (a young stockbroker from Chicago who had moved to Rhyolite to broker mining deals), Mrs. F.W. Dunn (of San Bernardino, who received her husband’s interest), and Helen H. Black (who bought out her husband’s share). They marketed the camp with promotional materials proclaiming it “A Mining Camp Built by Ladies: One of the Most Unique Wonders of the New West.” Contemporary newspapers, such as The Bullfrog Miner (March 1907) and Death Valley Chuck-Walla (June 1907), highlighted the novelty of women running a mining town, noting details like the owners drinking afternoon tea in the main tent.

The women reportedly enforced a “respectable” moral code, driving out saloons, gambling, and prostitution. Some contemporary and later accounts (including historian Lingenfelter) suggested this “dry” policy caused most of the male population to leave, accelerating the town’s collapse. However, archaeological evidence—such as beer and wine bottles, champagne bottle caps (agraffes), and dumps near the main tent—indicates that drinking persisted to some degree. Historians now emphasize that economic and logistical factors were the primary drivers of decline, not moral reforms.

Decline and Abandonment (1907 Onward)

Schwab’s boom was brief and fragile, mirroring the fate of many Death Valley mining camps. The Financial Panic of 1907 devastated regional mining investments, including those tied to Charles M. Schwab. Ore quality proved inconsistent, and Schwab’s location was disadvantaged: it depended on the more accessible Lee Camp for shipments, assays, and transport, with no direct route for miners. Most operations in the Echo-Lee District shut down, except for Lee Camp itself (which benefited from rail access). By August 1907, the post office closed, businesses folded, and the town rapidly emptied. Supplies were hauled away, leaving behind tent bases, wooden cellars, and debris.

The Inyo Gold Mining Company continued intermittent operations at the mine into the 1920s–1940s, but the townsite itself was abandoned within a year of its founding. Some later activity occurred after 1928, but Schwab never revived as a community.

Legacy and Current Status

Today, Schwab is a classic California ghost town with minimal visible structures—primarily scattered ruins, mine tailings, and historical debris in Echo Canyon. The Stray Horse/Inyo Mine workings remain, though they are often confused with the townsite itself. Two wooden crosses mark possible graves, one labeled “A Death Valley Victim – 1907.” The site offers a glimpse into the fleeting 1905–1907 mining excitement in Death Valley and stands as a reminder of the boom-and-bust cycle driven by speculation, distant capital (like Schwab’s investments), and harsh desert conditions.

Schwab’s story highlights the role of women in Western mining towns, the broader Death Valley gold rush, and the economic vulnerabilities of early 20th-century prospecting. It remains a point of interest for hikers, historians, and visitors to Death Valley National Park, though it lacks the dramatic intact buildings of better-known sites like Bodie or Rhyolite.

The town of Schwab is situated just below the Inyo and Skibo camps at the junction of the wagon roads leading up the east arm of Echo canyon and to Death Valley on the south. In other words, Schwab is located in the north or upper branch of Echo Canyon, astride the main Echo-Lee wagon road, across a small ridge from the present Inyo ruins, and about 1-1/2 miles from those ruins. At this location, evidence of the old townsite may be found.

The remains consist of seven leveled tent sites, some with ow and crude stone retaining walls remaining. More tent sites were once present, but have been erased by high water in the adjacent wash during Death Valley’s infrequent but violent flash floods. Two of the tent sites have eroded cellars behind them, about ten feet square and five feet deep. Since an immense pile of broken 1900 to 1910-dated beer bottles is located directly behind one of these tent-cellar sites, it is safe to say that this was the tent saloon, where once twenty-nine men were counted drinking at one time. The townsite covers several hundred feet along the-shallow wash which marks the northern branch of Echo Canyon, and remains are mostly restricted to the west side of that wash On the east side, however, is another tent location, and a shallow, unmarked grave, a lonely monument to one prospector who ended his days during the brief life of Schwab. About 300 yards to the west of the townsite is a crude derrick, the remains of Schwab’s well. The well site is dry and completely filled in, but numerous five gallon cans are scattered along the trail from the well to the townsite.

Rhyolite Herald of 22 February 1907.

Town Summary

NameSchwab, California
LocationDeath Valley National Park, California
Latitude, Longitude36.505, -116.7236
Elevation3,340 feet
Population200
Post Office

Schwab Map

References

Sutro Nevada

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Sutro, Nevada, located in Lyon County near the historic town of Dayton in the Carson River Valley, is a quintessential Western ghost town that owes its existence entirely to one of the most ambitious engineering feats of the Comstock Lode era: the Sutro Tunnel. The town, the tunnel, and the man—Adolph Sutro—are inseparable in Nevada mining history. Planned as a model community and operational headquarters for the tunnel project, Sutro briefly flourished as a well-organized settlement supporting the drainage of the flood-prone silver mines beneath Virginia City and Gold Hill. The tunnel itself, a nearly 4-mile-long drainage adit, addressed critical safety and operational challenges in the Comstock Lode, pioneering large-scale mine drainage techniques in the United States.

The town of Sutro Nevada, taken in 1874
The town of Sutro Nevada, taken in 1874

Background: The Comstock Lode and the Need for the Tunnel

The discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859 transformed the Virginia Range into one of the richest silver and gold districts in American history. As mines deepened—eventually reaching thousands of feet—engineers faced insurmountable problems: sudden floods from underground reservoirs, scalding-hot water inflows, poor ventilation, and skyrocketing costs for surface pumping. Traditional hoisting and pumping systems could not keep pace, endangering lives and limiting production. Disasters like the 1869 Yellow Jacket Mine fire in Gold Hill, which killed dozens partly due to blocked escape routes and flooding, underscored the urgency for a better solution.

Adolph Sutro and the Vision for the Tunnel

Adolph Sutro (1830–1898), a Prussian-born Jewish immigrant and self-taught entrepreneur who had profited from the California Gold Rush as a tobacco merchant and later operated a quartz mill along the Carson River, proposed the tunnel in 1860. His plan was straightforward yet revolutionary: excavate a gently sloping, horizontal adit from the lowlands near Dayton (close to the Carson River) approximately 4 miles southeast, connecting underground to the Comstock mines at a depth of about 1,640–1,750 feet. The tunnel would drain millions of gallons of water daily, provide ventilation, offer an alternative access route for men, supplies, and ore, and serve as a potential emergency escape.

Sutro secured legislative approval from the Nevada state legislature and U.S. Congress by 1865, including a 50-year franchise and land grants. Mining interests initially backed the idea for its safety benefits, but powerful mine owners and banks later opposed it fiercely, fearing it would break their monopoly on underground access and milling.

Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro (1830–1898) was the 24th mayor of San Francisco, California, serving in that office from 1894 until 1896 - Photographer Mathew Benjamin Brady
Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro (1830–1898) was the 24th mayor of San Francisco, California, serving in that office from 1894 until 1896 – Photographer Mathew Benjamin Brady

Construction and the Birth of the Town (1869–1879)

Construction of the Sutro Tunnel began on October 19, 1869, with ground broken at the Dayton end. The project was initially financed largely by contributions from miners themselves, who recognized its life-saving potential, and later by international bankers through the Sutro Tunnel Company’s stock sales. Crews—often immigrants using hand tools, explosives, and mules—labored for nearly nine years through solid rock. The main tunnel measured 3.88 miles (20,489 feet or about 6.24 km) long, roughly 10–12 feet wide and high (with variations reported up to 17×20 feet in places), and connected precisely to the Savage Mine workings on July 8, 1878 (some accounts note September 1). North and south lateral branches extended the total length to about 4.56 miles and were completed in 1879. The first water was released from the mines on June 30, 1879.

At the tunnel portal, Sutro carefully planned and developed the town of Sutro as the project’s headquarters. What began as a rough construction camp evolved into a well-laid-out community with streets, parks, a church, post office (established March 25, 1872, and operating until October 30, 1920), and its own weekly newspaper, the Sutro Independent. Sutro envisioned it as a miners’ haven where workers could live comfortably and commute underground via the tunnel. The population peaked at 600–800 during construction, including fine residences and Sutro’s own elaborate Victorian mansion (built in 1879 for $60,000, featuring marble fireplaces and a two-story veranda). Tunnel water was even used for irrigation.

The entrance to the Sutro Tunnel in the late 1800s. Suntro, Lyon County, Nevada.
The entrance to the Sutro Tunnel in the late 1800s. Suntro, Lyon County, Nevada.

Operations, Impact, and Decline

Once operational, the tunnel drained up to 3.5 million gallons of water per day in the 1880s, dramatically improving ventilation, reducing pumping costs, and enabling deeper, safer mining. It also facilitated ore and waste removal more efficiently than vertical shafts. The project served as a model for later U.S. drainage tunnels, such as those in Colorado.

Adolph Sutro sold his interest in the company shortly after completion and relocated to San Francisco, where he became a wealthy philanthropist, built the iconic Sutro Baths and Cliff House, and served as mayor (1895–1897). The tunnel company continued under other management, and the town gradually declined as the Comstock Lode’s bonanza faded by the early 1880s. Population dropped to around 375–435 by 1880; most buildings were removed or fell into disrepair. Fires claimed the mansion in 1941 and other structures later. The tunnel operated for about 65 years until the 1940s, when wartime needs, mismanagement, and declining production led to its closure around 1943 (though it continues to drain some water passively).

Legacy and Current Status

The Sutro Tunnel stands as an enduring engineering marvel that protected miners’ lives and sustained Comstock operations long after its richest ores were extracted. The town of Sutro, though now a private ghost town with scattered remnants (wooden shacks, mine tailings, and the iconic portal facade), is undergoing active preservation. The nonprofit Friends of Sutro Tunnel is leading restoration efforts, including site cleanup, structural stabilization, and partial reopening for guided tours. Over 1,000 feet of the tunnel have been explored with modern technology, and the site aims to become a public historical attraction highlighting Nevada’s mining heritage.

Today, Sutro serves as a poignant reminder of the ingenuity, labor, and ambition that defined the Comstock era—a town born of necessity that briefly thrived around humanity’s determination to conquer the depths of the earth.

Town Summary

NameSutro Nevada
LocationLyon County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude39.28, -119.584167
GNIS856145
Elevation4,478 ft (1,365 m)
Population600 – 800
Post OfficeMarch 1872 – October 1920
NewspaperSutro Independent Sept 25, 1875 – Nov 22, 1880

Sutro Map

References

Ione Nevada – Nye County Ghost Town

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Ione is a remote ghost town in Nye County, central Nevada, situated in Ione Valley at an elevation of approximately 6,782 feet (2,067 meters). Located roughly 23 miles (37 km) east of Gabbs, it lies in a high desert basin surrounded by the Shoshone Range. Though often classified as a ghost town, Ione has earned the nickname “the town that refused to die” for its repeated cycles of boom and bust while never fully vanishing.

Ione settlement, with Ione Valley in the background, c 1900
Ione settlement, with Ione Valley in the background, c 1900

Prehistoric Inhabitants

The Ione Valley supported a dense and permanent Native American population for at least 5,000 years. Shoshone and Northern Paiute peoples inhabited the area, practicing unusual property arrangements and agricultural methods adapted to the arid environment. Evidence of their long-term presence underscores the valley’s value as a resource-rich location long before European-American settlement.

Founding and Initial Boom (1863–1864)

Ione’s Euro-American history began in November 1863 when prospector P. A. Havens discovered silver ore in the Shoshone Range. The town initially formed in Ione Canyon as a trade and milling center serving the Union Mining District (whose mines were closer to settlements like Union and Grantsville). Within months, it grew rapidly: the original site boasted nearly 50 buildings, and the population swelled as miners, merchants, and entrepreneurs arrived.

In early 1864, residents petitioned the Nevada Territorial government to create a new county. Nye County was officially organized in April 1864 (named after Territorial Governor James Nye), with Ione designated as its first county seat. The territorial government awarded the town an $800 stipend to build the county’s first courthouse—a modest wooden structure. By late 1864, Ione had over 100 buildings, a population nearing 600, two short-lived newspapers (Nye County News and the Advertiser), a post office (opened 1865), stores, saloons, stables, and a stage line to Austin. Mills soon followed, including the Pioneer 5-stamp mill (1865) and the larger Knickerbocker mill three miles south.

The townsite was relocated out of the canyon in 1864 to a more convenient spot nearer the principal mines.

Ione Nevada
Ione Nevada

County Seat Era and Rapid Decline (1864–1867)

Ione’s prominence as Nye County’s seat proved short-lived. Richer silver strikes at Belmont, about 50 miles southeast, drew away most of the population by 1865–1866. In February 1867, the county seat officially moved to Belmont. By 1868, Ione’s population had dropped below 200. A brief post-1867 silver resurgence in the 1870s failed to restore its earlier status; by 1880, only about 25 people remained. A major fire in 1887 destroyed many buildings, and the post office was briefly renamed “Midas” in 1882 in a failed attempt to revive fortunes.

Later Revivals (1890s–1930s)

Ione experienced intermittent revivals tied to mining. In 1896, the Ione Gold Mining Company built a 10-stamp mill to process ore from the nearby Berlin mine, briefly boosting the population to around 70. In 1897, prominent businessman A. Phelps Stokes (through the Nevada Company) purchased most mining and milling interests in the Union District, injecting new capital. This resurgence ended abruptly in July 1898 when silver prices collapsed. The post office closed in 1903.

A final small boom occurred around 1912–1914 with the discovery of cinnabar (mercury ore) deposits. The population reached about 100, and a telephone line connected the town to Austin. Mercury mining continued sporadically into the 1920s and 1930s, with operations at nearby Shamrock producing thousands of flasks of mercury. These activities helped Ione survive the Great Depression, though the mill was eventually dismantled in 1950. The post office reopened briefly during this period but closed for the final time on April 30, 1959.

20th Century to Present

Population figures reflect the town’s resilience: it stood at 40 in 1940. In the 1970s, Hugh Marshall acquired most of the townsite and surrounding 24 square miles. A later attempt at large-scale gold mining in the early 1980s by Marshall Earth Resources restored some buildings but ultimately faded.

Ione never became fully abandoned, persisting through mining depressions, milling challenges, and competition from richer strikes elsewhere. Today it remains a living ghost town with a handful of residents (reports from the early 2020s cited around 41; more recent accounts suggest even fewer year-round occupants). A small market once operated, but services are minimal. The remote location—reached via dirt roads off State Route 91—limits tourism, though the site attracts those interested in Nevada’s mining heritage.

Notable Landmarks and Legacy

Surviving structures include historic wooden and stone buildings, an aged corral, stone cabins, and a barn-like structure rumored to be the original (small wooden) Nye County Courthouse. The Ore House Saloon, a turn-of-the-century building, stands as one of the more visible remnants.

Ione Valley’s prehistoric sites and the town’s layered mining history contribute to its significance. It exemplifies the boom-bust pattern of Nevada’s 19th- and early 20th-century mining camps, yet its unbroken (if tenuous) occupation sets it apart.

Sources draw primarily from Nevada historical markers, mining histories, and local records. For further reading, consult Shawn Hall’s Preserving the Glory Days: Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of Nye County, Nevada. Ione stands today as a quiet testament to the enduring, if modest, spirit of Nevada’s frontier mining towns.

Ione Trail Map

Rawhide Nevada – Mineral County Ghost Town

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Rawhide is a classic Nevada mining boomtown-turned-ghost town in Mineral County, located approximately 55 miles southeast of Fallon at coordinates 39°01′0″N 118°23′28″W and an elevation of 5,082 feet (1,549 m). Nestled in the high desert west of the Buckskin Mountains, the site exemplifies the rapid rise and fall of early 20th-century Nevada mining camps. Discovered in late 1906 and heavily promoted as the “Land of Gold,” Rawhide swelled to a peak population of around 7,000–8,000 by mid-1908 before a devastating fire, flood, and disappointing ore bodies triggered a swift bust. Today, virtually nothing remains of the original townsite; it was completely obliterated by large-scale open-pit gold and silver mining operations in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, leaving only a massive pit and reclaimed landscape as a reminder of its fleeting glory.

Rawhide, Nevada. 1908.
Rawhide, Nevada. 1908.

Early Settlement and Discovery (1906–Early 1907)

The first discoveries in what became the Regent mining district occurred in 1906. On Christmas Day 1906, lone prospector Jim Swanson found gold while exploring the area. Two months later, Charles “Charley” Holman joined him and is credited with naming the camp “Rawhide.” A third prospector, Charles “Scotty” McLeod from Aurora, staked claims on nearby Holligan Hill. Word of the strike spread quickly to nearby towns, sparking a modest rush. By early 1907, the camp began to take shape with basic tents, shacks, and mining activity focused on gold and silver veins.

Boom Period and Promotion (1907–Mid-1908)

High-grade ore discoveries in the summer of 1907 ignited a full-scale boom. Promoters, most notably George Graham Rice (the notorious “Jackal of Wall Street”) and vaudeville star Nathaniel Carl Goodwin, aggressively hyped the district through their Nat C. Goodwin & Company brokerage. Rice orchestrated publicity stunts—including a visit by best-selling novelist Elinor Glyn—and flooded newspapers with ads touting Rawhide’s riches. The town exploded virtually overnight: by June 1908 it boasted a population of 7,000–8,000, more than 40 saloons, dozens of restaurants, stores, a red-light district, and the usual assortment of boomtown infrastructure. It became one of the fastest-built mining cities in Western history, with stage lines, a post office (established October 11, 1907), and frenzied speculation in claims such as the Rawhide Queen, Rawhide Coalition, and Black Eagle mines.

Rawhide, Nevada - 1915
Rawhide, Nevada – 1915

Disaster and Decline (Late 1908–1910s)

The boom was short-lived. On September 4, 1908, a massive fire swept through the wooden town, destroying large sections. A devastating flood the following year (September 1909) compounded the damage, leaving many residents unable or unwilling to rebuild. Ore production proved far less substantial than advertised, and by late 1910 the population had plummeted to fewer than 500. Mining continued on a reduced scale, but the speculative frenzy ended. The post office remained open until August 31, 1941, reflecting a small but persistent community.

Sept. 4, 1908. Devastating fire in Rawhide Nevada. Over $1 million in property damage and thousands were left homeless.
Sept. 4, 1908. Devastating fire in Rawhide Nevada. Over $1 million in property damage and thousands were left homeless.

Later Years and Final Abandonment (1920s–1960s)

Rawhide lingered as a quiet mining camp through the 1920s and 1930s with intermittent small-scale operations and placer mining. By the 1940 U.S. Census, only 32 people remained. A handful of hardy residents, including longtime local Anne (or Anna) Rechel—who owned mines and operated a restaurant—stayed into the 1960s. Rechel, often described as Rawhide’s last true resident, continued living and prospecting there until circumstances forced her to leave in the late 1960s; she passed away in 1967, marking the effective end of the town.

Modern Mining and Current Status

Ironically, the district experienced a major revival decades later through large-scale open-pit mining. Starting in the 1980s and peaking with operations by a Kennecott subsidiary and joint ventures from 1989 onward, the Rawhide Mine produced hundreds of thousands of ounces of gold and silver annually until closure around 2002–2005. The original historic townsite was entirely razed and incorporated into the massive pit complex, which has since undergone reclamation. Today, the location is an industrial mining scar with no visible remnants of the 1908 boomtown—only tailings, roads, and the open pit itself remain. The site is inaccessible to casual visitors and serves as a stark illustration of both the impermanence of boomtowns and the long-term economic legacy of Nevada’s mineral wealth.

NEVADA TOWN SWEPT FROM MAP BY CLOUDBURST

Ten-Foot Wall of Water Overwhelms Squattertown, Near Rawhide, in the Night.

SIX REPORTED MISSING

300 Families Rendered Homeless and Property Piled in Tangled Heap by the Flood.

Rawhide, Nev., Aug. 31.  “Squattertown”, a settlement just south of Rawhide, was swept by a ten-foot wall of water, following a cloudburst in the hills to the north tonight, and 130 buildings were partially or completely destroyed.

It is reported that two women and four children are missing, but up to a late hour tonight it was impossible to obtain verification of this report.

The cloudburst occurred on the summit of the low hills to the north of the camp. In a few moments a three-foot wall of water was pouring down the slope, covering the three miles from the summit to Main street with the speed of a railway train. The flood rushed into the street, which lies in a hollow and forms a general drainage canal, and every business house on the east side was flooded to a depth of from one to four feet.

Several structures were torn from their foundations and floated some distance down the street, while the crest of the flood was covered with furniture, animals and debris.

Gathering force as is poured down the channel, the flood swept into and over Squattertown, half a mile further down. The water formed a wall 10 feet high as it crashed into the frame structures, inhabited for the most part by miners and their families, and buildings were overturned and demolished at the first blow.

Darkness had fallen and the worst of devastation went on in the night.

Before the wave had passed 500 persons were homeless and their property piled up a tangled heap in the basin at the foot of National hill.

Several daring rescues were made. Mrs. Hobeloff and her two children clung to the wreckage of their home as it floated down the street and were rescued by Emil Gutt and P. R. Whyteck.

The Fountain Bar, a saloon located in a small frame building was swept from its foundations and carried five blocks down the street to be landed high and dry on a low bank, with its fixtures little disturbed.

Colorado Spring Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO 1 Sept 1909

Streets of Rawhide, Nevada 1908
Streets of Rawhide, Nevada 1908

Legacy

Rawhide’s story is a quintessential tale of Nevada’s mining booms: rapid growth fueled by rich surface discoveries and aggressive promotion, followed by swift collapse when reality set in. Its promotion by figures like George Graham Rice highlighted the era’s speculative excesses, while disasters and marginal ore bodies sealed its fate as a ghost town. Though physically erased by modern mining, Rawhide endures in historical accounts, photographs, and the collective memory of Nevada’s glory days.

Sources: This report is compiled from Nevada ghost-town documentation, including Western Mining History, Forgotten Nevada, Nevada Expeditions, Wikipedia entries, and period newspaper accounts cross-referenced with mining histories. Key references include Stanley W. Paher’s Nevada Ghost Towns & Mining Camps and specialized district reports. For further reading, consult The Story of Rawhide, Mineral County, Nevada or on-site resources from the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology.

Rawhide Town Summary

NameRawhide
LocationMineral County, Nevada
NewspaperRawhide Rustler Jan 16, 1907 – Apr 17, 1909
Rawhide Times Jan 16, 1908
Rawhide News Mar 7 – Aug 1, 1908
Rawhide Press-Times Feb 1, 1908 – Jan 20, 1911
Rawhide Miner (The) Apr 1, 1908

Rawhide Trail Map

Resources

Broken Hills Nevada – Mineral County Ghost Town

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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.

Broken Hills Nevada, c 1915. Ore sacks being loaded for shipment to the railroad at Fallon.
Broken Hills Nevada, c 1915. Ore sacks being loaded for shipment to the railroad at Fallon.

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)

George Graham Rice
George Graham Rice

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

Broken Hills Trail Map