Gold Point, Nevada (Esmeralda County) is a well-preserved mining ghost town in the high desert southwest of Goldfield. It evolved through three names—Lime Point, Hornsilver, and Gold Point—reflecting shifts in the dominant ore and the broader early-20th-century mining booms centered on Tonopah and Goldfield. It served as a secondary camp in that regional network, linked by stage and auto routes to railheads and supply points, and produced significant silver and later gold before wartime restrictions and declining economics ended large-scale operations.
Early Settlement: Lime Point
The area was first noted for limestone outcrops a few hundred yards west of the present townsite. Lime deposits were identified around 1868, and a small tent camp known as Lime Point formed. Ranchers and a few miners were present by the 1880s. Silver was worked intermittently around 1880, with ore shipped to nearby Lida for milling because of local water scarcity. High freight costs, processing difficulties, and remoteness (the nearest major supply center was far north at Unionville) led to abandonment of the early camp by about 1882.
The discoveries that built Tonopah and Goldfield in the early 1900s brought prospectors back to older sites, including Lime Point. Silver was found again around 1902, briefly reviving the camp under the name Hornsilver (after chlorargyrite, or “hornsilver”). Water and transport problems again limited success, and the settlement faded within about a year.
Boom as Hornsilver (1905–early 1910s)
In 1905 the Great Western Mine Company began work about half a mile southeast of the old camp and hit a rich silver vein. A stampede followed. By 1908 tents gave way to more permanent wood-frame buildings, and the camp of Hornsilver took shape. At its peak the town had roughly 800–1,000 residents and more than 225 wood-frame buildings, tents, and shacks. Amenities included stores, hotels, cafes, a bakery, telephone service, up to 13 saloons, a chamber of commerce, and stage/auto connections to rail points at Ralston (about 15 miles east), Goldfield, and Cuprite. The nearest rail depot remained at Ralston; a hoped-for railroad spur never arrived.
A newspaper, the Hornsilver Herald, began publication in May 1908; a post office opened the following week (Hornsilver post office operated 16 May 1908–16 October 1932). Deep ore bodies were developed, but litigation over claim-jumping, inefficient milling, and high costs caused a sharp decline by 1909–1910. Most businesses closed and many residents left.
Mining resumed on a smaller scale around 1915. In 1922 Charles Stoneham (owner of the New York Giants baseball team) bought the Great Western Mine at a receiver’s sale. It was the district’s largest producer, with recorded output exceeding $500,000 (at period prices of roughly $20/oz gold and under $1/oz silver).
Hornsilver is the latest wonder in Nevada Mining districts… A comer… Main Street is extending almost as you watch it.
Goldfield Review
Transition to Gold Point and Depression-Era Activity
In 1927 miner J.W. Dunfee made a major gold discovery in the mine. Within a few years gold production surpassed silver. The town was renamed Gold Point (sources give the formal change around 1930 or 1932) to reflect the shift and attract investment. The Gold Point post office operated from 16 October 1932 until early 1968 (some accounts cite closure in 1967).
This period brought the camp’s longest sustained success, even as the rest of the country endured the Great Depression. Population estimates for the 1930s put the mining-supported community at around 200 in some accounts; U.S. Census figures for the place were lower (35 in 1930, rising to 110 in 1940). Ore production in the broader district included tens of thousands of ounces of gold over the life of the mines.
Decline, World War II, and Final Mining
In October 1942, under wartime order L-208, nonessential gold mining was curtailed so workers could move to strategic industries. Major operations at Gold Point ceased and the population dropped sharply. After the war, limited mining continued until the 1960s, when a dynamite blast caused a major cave-in at the Dunfee Shaft. Repair costs exceeded the value of remaining ore, and serious mining essentially ended. Census counts fell to 23 in 1950 and stayed in the low dozens or fewer thereafter.
Post Office, Newspapers, Buildings, and Population Summary
Population: Peak estimates of ~800–1,000 around 1908; census figures include 50 (1910), 18 (1920), 35 (1930), 110 (1940), 23 (1950), and roughly 7–10 in recent decades (full-time residents often cited as about 6–7, with some part-time). The town swells temporarily during events such as Memorial Day weekend gatherings..
Post office: Hornsilver (1908–1932) then Gold Point (1932–1968). Ora Mae Wiley served as postmistress for roughly 1940–1964/1967; she and her husband Harry Wiley also ran a general store and gas station. The old post office building survives as a museum.
Newspaper: Hornsilver Herald (started May 1908). No long-running later local paper is prominently recorded.
Buildings: Peak of 225+ structures (wood-frame buildings, tents, shacks) including numerous saloons, stores, and dwellings. About 50 buildings remain standing today, among them the former Hornsilver Townsite & Telephone Company building (now a saloon), the Wiley home (with original furnishings), the post office/museum, miners’ cabins (some used as B&B units), and other restored or stabilized structures along the main street. Artifacts and period furnishings are still present in many.
Role in the Region and Modern Status
Gold Point was never a primary metropolis like Goldfield or Tonopah; it functioned as a satellite camp whose fortunes rose and fell with regional exploration, ore discoveries, capital investment, water/transport constraints, and national policy (especially World War II restrictions). It contributed silver and gold output (district totals in the range of tens of thousands of ounces of gold plus substantial silver value) and illustrated the typical boom-bust cycle of Nevada’s early-20th-century mining frontier.
From the late 1970s onward, private owners—most notably Herb Robbins (“Sheriff Stone”) and associates including the Kremin brothers—bought and stabilized many remaining buildings. The site now operates as a living ghost town with museums (post office and others open most weekends or by arrangement), a saloon, bed-and-breakfast cabins, RV hookups, occasional reenactments, and events. It remains privately owned; visitors are welcome but asked to respect property and leave artifacts undisturbed. A Nevada State Historical Marker (No. 156) summarizes the basic chronology.
Gold Point stands today as one of Nevada’s better-preserved examples of a multi-phase mining camp, illustrating the transition from silver to gold, the impact of national events on remote western districts, and the role of private stewardship in keeping such places intact.
Ghost Town Summary
| Name | Gold Point |
| Location | Esmerelda County, Nevada |
| Latitude, Longitude | 37.3546518,-117.3738315 |
| GNIS | 848320 |
| Elevation | 5,400 feet |
| Activity | 1868 – 1880 – Lime Point 1907 – 1927 – Hornsilver 1930 – Gold Point |
| Post Office | 1908 – |
| Newspaper | Hornsilver Herald |
Gold Point Map
Nevada State Historic Marker 156
Nevada State Historical Markers identify significant places of interest in Nevada’s history. The Nevada State Legislature started the program in 1967 to bring the state’s heritage to the public’s attention with on-site markers. These roadside markers bring attention to the places, people, and events that make up Nevada’s heritage. They are as diverse as the counties they are located within and range from the typical mining boom and bust town to the largest and most accessible petroglyph sites in Northern Nevada Budget cuts to the program caused the program to become dormant in 2009. Many of the markers are lost or damaged.
Gold Point was initially called Lime Point for the nearby lime deposits found in 1868. Processing difficulties in the 1880s discouraged silver mining locally.
Goldfield ore discoveries in 1902 stimulated area mining interest. In 1908 miners discovered high grade chlorargyrite, a form of silver chloride known as hornsilver. The town’s name was changed to Hornsilver, and a typical mining camp developed. A newspaper, post office, stores, and saloons began operations, and a town of over 225 wood-frame buildings, tents, and shacks appeared.
The camp assumed the name Gold Point after 1930 when more gold was being mined than silver. Miners were drawn away to essential World War II industries in October 1942, and major mining ceased at Gold Point.
STATE HISTORICAL MARKER No. 156
STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE
E.F. DENTON