ESCAPE
GOLD RUSH
HISTORY
Ghost Towns around Las Vegas
Synonymous with adventure and wealth, the gold rush period shaped the United States. And Nevada has not escaped this 19th century fever. This is why it is not uncommon to find ghost towns in Nevada, vestiges of the rush for gold and other minerals such as silver. There are nearly 600 in all, flourishing towns at that time, but abandoned as soon as resources were weakened.
Today, the most curious can come and visit these remains from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century to discover what remains of these mines and these towns. You can see abandoned towns there, sometimes even with almost intact infrastructure and buildings. Some have even been used for filming, for example, we can see the ruins of Rhyolite in The Island (2005). For others, only a few fragments of stone remain and their name in the history books.
1.Nelson Ghost Town/Eldorado Canyon
Located 50 minutes southeast of Las Vegas, Nelson Ghost is one of the traces of the history before Las Vegas and Nevada.
Rich in many treasures, the Nelson Ghost Town region saw the opening of the Techatticup gold mine in 1861, which attracted all types of people wanting to get rich.
Soon, murderers and thieves took over the place, and this small place in the desert became a boom town with a bad reputation.
But in 1941, the gold mine became exhausted and closed.
Since then, the neighboring town of Nelson has seen many lives. Around the 1940s, a road was built which would become Route 165 and a gas station was built. The town became a stopover along US 95, but eventually flooding engulfed the area.
Today, everything that was abandoned has become a rare Western showcase and a vestige of a distant past.
And over the years, Nelson Ghost Town has become a popular location for film shoots, including "3000 Miles to Graceland."
The site is open for public tours for a few dollars which you can pay at the on-site boutique, but also for weddings and photo shoots to be booked and paid for in advance.
Address: Nelson Cutoff Rd, Searchlight, NV, 89046
2.Pioneer Saloon
30 minutes south of the Strip is a relic of the past that is worth the detour. The Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings and its neighboring General Store.
This Saloon, more than 100 years old and now converted into a restaurant, will take you back to the atmosphere of the first gold prospectors who scoured the plains of what would become Nevada in the early 1900s.
It will bring to life a famous Pioneer story about a deadly card game in 1915. An unemployed miner named Paul Coski was shot and killed by Joe Armstrong, the poker dealer who caught Paul cheating. The local newspaper headline and coroner's report are displayed in the living room on the original tin wall with 3 fully penetrating holes, believed by many to be the original bullet holes from the shooting.
Movies, TV shows and music videos continue to be filmed on location as people from all over the world come to the Pioneer to learn about history, sip cocktails at the bar, listen to live music on weekends and taste the now famous Ghost Burger.
Not far away is also the town's original cemetery with burials older than the Saloon itself.
Guaranteed change of scenery.
Address: 310NV-161, Goodsprings, NV, 89019
3.Rhyolite Ghost Town
Founded in 1905, the town of Rhyolite came into being after the discovery of high-grade gold ore in 1904 by prospectors Frank Harris and Ernest Cros.
After naming their claim Bullfrog, in homage to the green-hued rocks of the area, other mining camps sprung up and people began arriving by the thousands. In 6 months the city had 5000 inhabitants.
Rhyolite was so successful that it quickly attracted the attention of steel magnate and astute businessman Charles M. Schwab.
In 1906, Schwab purchased the Bullfrog mining district, which took the operation from good to large. In one year, three railways were connected to the brand new Rhyolite station, still perfectly preserved.
Also thanks to Schwab, Rhyolite residents enjoyed luxuries not typically associated with booming mining towns, such as concrete sidewalks, telephone lines, electric street lights, and plumbing. The city center's commercial buildings, mostly constructed of stone, included a hospital, three banks, a stock exchange, an opera house, a public swimming pool, and two churches.
But by 1910, mines began to close, businesses went bankrupt, and workers looked for work elsewhere. In 1920, only 14 people lived in Rhyolite.
With wood and stone being scarce resources in the desert, most of Rhyolite's infrastructure and buildings have been dismantled for use elsewhere. Sometimes entire buildings were moved, such as Miners Union Hall, which is now Beatty's Old Town Hall. In 1913, one of Rhyolite's original bar counters was moved to Goodsprings, where it remains an integral part of the Pioneer Saloon.
However, some remains have survived to this day, making Rhyolite one of the most photographed ghost towns in the West.
Rhyolite is located approximately 2 hours from Las Vegas
Address: Rhyolite, NV, 89003