Goldfield, NV: Not Just Your Normal Ghost Town

Coming Into Goldfield from Tonopah- the Goldfield Hotel
is in the background. 

According to some people, Goldfield is a ghost town.   While there are some areas of Goldfield that may be considered a ghost town, it is more properly characterized as an historic town.  Areas of town are growing and being rehabbed and there are buildings that are being restored.   The mines in Goldfield are producing again, and bringing in revenue that is spurring new economic development.  In fact Goldfield promotes itself as “The Last Great Gold Camp”. 

Gold was discovered in Goldfield in 1902 by two miners from Tonopah who settled in the area.  The claims were on the north side of town, near where the mines are located today.  By 1903, a group of 20 miners were living in tents in what they called the “Grandpa” mining district.  On October 20^th, 1903, they, along with several investors, voted to establish a town site and change the name to Goldfield in order to promote growth of the town.

Main Street and the Goldfield Hotel

And grow it did.  It grew to 20,000 people in just six years.  While the Tonopah mines were producing mostly silver, with a small amount of gold, the mining district in Goldfield was producing three times more gold than silver.  The boom years were from 1905 to 1910, and by 1907 it was the largest and most economically powerful city in Nevada.   During that time Goldfield boasted 21 grocery stores, 49 saloons, and 6 bakeries.   Fancy restaurants, hotels, theatres, casinos, athletic clubs, and more lined its bustling streets, and the Tonopah & Goldfield Railroad terminal was a hub for transportation between the two towns.  The Las Vegas & Tonopah Railroad also featured a stop in Goldfield. 

By 1910, however, the population of Goldfield had declined significantly.  Gold was still abundant in the mines, but the cost of mining it became too great.  Mines began to shut down, and the people began to leave.  In 1923 and 1924 two major fires destroyed most of Goldfield, devastating 25 blocks of the bustling main street section of town.  The town never recovered. 

Today, The Goldfield Historical Society is working hard to preserve and restore the heritage of Goldfield.   A walking tour of Historic Goldfield takes you to several of the original buildings, a cemetery, and historic sites, as well as mining and railroad antiquities and other interesting stuff.  A very nice Guidebook with lots of historic photographs and information is available for this tour.  Along this route you will meet some of the 250 or so current residents of Goldfield, all of whom will be glad you came to visit their town. 

Bottle House built in 1905

Subway Entrances

Some of the buildings, remains, and sites you will see along the walking tour of Goldfield are bottle houses built in 1905 (one in ruins at the north end of town, and another one in the center of town),  the Goldfield High School built in 1907, the famous Goldfield Hotel built in 1907, the buildings housing the Goldfield Consolidated Mining Company (1907) and the Florence Mining Company (1908), a brewery, saloons, banks, assayers, garages and gas stations, several frame, stone, and brick houses, and more.   Other interesting things to see include two subway entrances that go nowhere, antique mining equipment, trains, and  an old jail.  

The Mining District outside of Goldfield.  

There are many opportunities to explore outside town as well.  The Mining District north of town is not open to the public, but you can drive pretty close and get a good view.  The Old Mohawk #2 mine was one of the richest mines in Goldfield, producing almost $9 million in ore values.  With the discovery of the rich ore from the Mohawk mines, investors flocked to Goldfield in 1905.  One of the most notable of these investors is Charles Schwab.  Today, American Resource Corp. operates the Goldfield Mine outside of Goldfield.

If you like rather primitive hot springs, Alkali Hot Springs is only a couple miles outside of town.  This once booming resort is now in ruins, but the springs are still flowing into the small concrete-lined pools.  The pools are out in the open air, and offer a picturesque view of the desert and mountains while soaking.  Both pools are about 3 feet deep, with the average water temperatures being 108 degrees in one and 100 degrees in the other.   It was refreshing to enjoy the heat of the pool while sitting in the fresh air and sunshine, gazing out at the beautiful desert with Alkali Lake in the distance.  We found that the cooler pool, the one that was 100 degrees,  was more to our liking.

The area itself is interesting.  The spring emerges from the side of a small hill, and around the area are interesting mud-pot like features and steam-vent holes caused by hydrothermic activity underground.   Be careful walking in these areas.  The surface may look solid but under the thin crust is mud that you will sink into.   We found that out first hand.  The springs flow out of the pools and form a marshland of warm mineral-laden water.  An oasis of lush green grasses and bright colored algae stretches out into the desert for about a 1/4 of a mile from the spring area.  Herons and egrets can be seen feeding there.  

There is a rockhounding site called Gem Fields just north of town where you can find interesting agates, but check to be sure the site is still open.  For real ghost town experiences, Belmont and Gold Point ghost towns are close by, as well as some other similar attractions.  We also visited Alkali Lake, a large dry lake bed where we spent the day hunting for meteorites.  Wild horses and burros frequent this area, too.

Here are two websites to go to for more info about Goldfield:   The Goldfield Chamber of Commerce website is http://www.goldfieldnevada.org/, and the website for the Goldfield Historical Society is http://goldfieldhistoricalsociety.com/.  If you are heading to Goldfield, you can purchase the Walking Tour Guide for $2.00 in advance on their website.  

You can also go to our FaceBook photo album at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.339467609482086.75836.124287157666800&type=1 for more pictures of Goldfield.   Hey- and while you're there, "Like" our page!   

Alkali Lake- a Dry Lake Bed where we hunted for
Meteorites- We saw a beautiful sunset there, too

We will be open in Quartzsite at A37 in Rice Ranch in the beginning of November.   Happy traveling and we’ll see ya’ online and in Quartzsite.   In the meantime, remember:  Life is Short.  Go Outside and Play! 

  

View of the Mining District