Visit The Ghost Town Of Rhyolite
Rhyolite is a ghost town on the Nevada side of Death Valley National Park that only existed from 1904 to 1916. Visit here to see the ruins of the short-lived city, another lonely deserted mining town that fell just as quickly as it was built up. It once held the promise of massive riches from mining, but within only a matter of 12 years it turned to decay and ruin. There are several buildings to explore.
Details:
Free to visit
Free parking
The History
This town sprung up after Shorty Harris began prospecting the area in 1904 and found quartz with gold inside. The town immediately started mining and building up a townsite because of the promising Shoshone mine nearby. The city grew quickly and within a few years several thousand people resided in Rhyolite. Then the financial panic of 1907 hit and the town slowly started to dissipate.
About
Decaying buildings now scatter this desolate city in the middle of the Mojave Desert. An old railway station lies here, boarded up in disrepair, with a chain linked fence surrounding it. I imagine what it could have been like with its beautiful Spanish influenced architecture with accents in greens and reds. At one point this building was a casino. Today, it rests dormant in its current existence.
Railway Station
Railway Station
Next to the station is an abandoned and decaying Union Pacific carriage.
Union Pacific carriage
A roofless old school house sits among the cascading mountains, and the once pristine Cook Bank building is now a pile of rubble. All four walls of the bank vault are still in tact. Big dreams formed and then faded, and so the city’s residents left for greener pastures beyond the dry desert.
The school house
Cook Bank building
Cook Bank building
Cook Bank building
Every town needs a jail house, especially its a gold mining hub.
The jail house
The jail house
A perfect facade remains of the the H. D. & L. D. Porter Store, the teal sign even remains from 1906. This facade now frames the desert in the background, eventually hollowed out by weather and time. The Porters Brothers were Rhyolite's leading merchants, selling the things all towns need like groceries and clothing, but also mining supplies.
H. D. & L. D. Porter Store
Rhyolite is a great place to see if you love photography, ghost towns, or American history.
