Rhyolite is a ghost town location just outside of the Eastern edge of Death Valley National monument in Nye country, Nevada. Founded in 1904 by Frank “Shorty” Harris when he discovered quartz with load of “Free Gold”, Rhyolite started as a gold mining camp in the surrounding Bullfrog mining district. As with many discovery’s during this time period, news quickly circulated and the Bullfrog mining district was formed.
Assays of $3000 per ton were reported by the mining press of the day, and the fall and winter saw many people converge on the area despite the weather conditions. Tonopah and Goldfield saw hundreds head south in the spring of 1905, and the migration caused “a string of dust a hundred miles long”.
The townsite of Rhyolite was found in a draw close to the most important mines in February, 1905. To start, the town was a mining camp with tents and canvas walled building. Fuel shortages caused the populous to burn sage brush and greasewood as fuel for their stoves to cook and keep warm. Food and fuel were teamed into the area on daily stages and water was bought over from Beatty for $5 per barrel.
However, as was common with gold rush towns, Rhyolite quickly developed all of the modern amenities of day, including newspapers, schools, hospitals and electrical power. Six thousand people called the town home in 1907. Luxuries unimaginable just two years before include, hotel rooms with private baths, and opera house, dozens of saloons, four banks, a butcher shop were brought to the town by three different trains.
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and a financial panic of 1907 dried up capital investment which doomed the town along with many others in the region. Rhyolite ceased to be and closed in 1911.
Today, several building shells still exist, along with the infamous Bottle House, and outdoor museum. The town is accessible via paved roads, which ruins the “ghosttown” effect and detracts a bit from the location. In spite of this, it is easily accessible and worth a stop when you are in the area.
Rhyolite is a wonderful place to visit when you are running Titus Canyon and Leadfield trail.
Rhyolite Map
Resources
- Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps, Stanley W Paher
- Wikipedia
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