List of ghost towns in Nevada

Most ghost towns in Nevada in the United States of America are former mining boomtowns that were abandoned when the mines closed. Those that weren't set up as mining camps were usually established as locations for mills, or supply points for nearby mining operations.

Car

Churchill

Clark

Doug

Elko

Esmeralda

Eureka

Humboldt

Lander

Lincoln

Lyon

Mineral

Nye

Pershing

Sto

Wash

White Pine

In Clark County settlements along the Colorado River have been submerged underneath the reservoirs of Lake Mead or Lake Mohave.

Conditions

Ghost towns can include sites in various states of disrepair and abandonment. Some sites no longer have any trace of buildings or civilization, and have reverted to empty land. Other sites are unpopulated but still have standing buildings. Still others may support full-time residents, though usually far fewer than at their historical peak, while others may now be museums or historical sites.

For ease of reference, the sites listed have been placed into one of the following general categories.

Barren site

• Site is no longer in existence
• Site has been destroyed, covered with water, or has reverted to empty land
• May have at most a few difficult-to-find foundations/footings

Neglected site

• Little more than rubble remains at the site
• Dilapidated, often roofless buildings remain at the site

Abandoned site

• Buildings or houses still standing, but all or almost all are abandoned
• No population, with the possible exception of a caretaker
• Site no longer in use, except for one or two buildings

Semi-abandoned site

• Buildings or houses still standing, but most are abandoned
• A few residents may remain

Historic site

• Buildings or houses still standing
• Site has been converted to a historical site, museum, or tourist attraction
• Still a busy community, but population is smaller than in its peak years

List of ghost towns in Nevada

Nevada Ghost Towns

Town	Image	County	Established	Disestablished	Status	Notes
Aurora		Mineral	1860		Neglected site
Austin		Lander	1862
Alturas		Clark	1861			In El Dorado Canyon (Nevada) near Techatticup Mine in the Colorado Mining District.
Beatty		Nye	1905		Abandoned site.	Around Indian Springs, Nevada
Belleville		Mineral	1872
Belmont		Nye	1865			Former Nye County courthouse in Belmont is preserved as Belmont Courthouse State Historic Park[1]
Berlin		Nye	1897	1911		Preserved within Berlin–Ichthyosaur State Park[2]
Bermond Station		Churchill	1920	1926		The site was also known as Frenchman or "Frenchy's and later as Bermond Station from 1920—26.[3]
Blair		Esmeralda	1907	1920		The site of the largest stamp mill in Nevada, at the time[3]
Bristol Wells		Lincoln	1872	1905
Broken Hills		Mineral	1913	1940
Bullfrog		Nye
Bullionville		Lincoln	1870	1882	Barren site	A reliable water supply supported milling in town until nearby Pioche built waterworks to supply water to Pioche mills. Afterward, Bullioniville was slowly abandoned.[3]
Cactus Springs		Nye
Callville		Clark	1864	1869	Submerged under Callville Bay of Lake Mead	Steamboat landing, County seat of Pah-Ute County, Arizona Territory (1865–67), Post office (1867-69)
Candelaria		Mineral	1864	1939		The Northern Belle mine produced 15 million dollars in silver during production.[4]
Chafey		Pershing	1908	1913		Was originally called Dun Glen.[3]
Charleston		Elko
Clifton		Lander	1862		Semi-abandoned site	Just west of Austin.
Coaldale		Esmeralda	1894	1993
Cobre		Elko
Colorado City		Clark	1861		Submerged under Lake Mohave	Steamboat landing near the mouth of El Dorado Canyon (Nevada) in the Colorado Mining District.
Columbus		Esmerelda	1865	1881
Como		Lyon	1861	1930s		Post office 1879-1881, 1903-1905; Mining town occupied intermittently, activity finally ceasing in the 1930s after the closing of a sawmill.[3]
Cortez		Lander	1863	1930		George Hearst mined at the area in the 1860s.
Crystal Springs		Lincoln
Currant		Nye	1865	1871
Daveytown		Humboldt	1910	1930
Deeth		Elko	1869	1915		A depot and trading center for local ranchers and ranchers from adjacent counties.
Delano		Elko	1872	1927		The town was the site of a small gold-mining district that saw production from the 1870s to the 1960s.
Delamar		Lincoln	1890	1909		In 1897, Delamar had a population of 3000.[3]
Dixie Valley		Churchill	1861
Dun Glen		Pershing	1862	1894		Later became Chafey.[3]
Eagleville		Mineral
El Dorado City		Clark	1863	1880s	Barren site	Mining camp in El Dorado Canyon (Nevada) in the Colorado Mining District. Site of the El Dorado Mills.
Etna		Pershing	1865	1872
Fairview		Churchill	1905	1919		At its height, Fairview had 27 saloons.[3]
Fish Lake Valley		Esmeralda
Flanigan		Washoe	1909	1973
Fort Churchill		Lyon				Preserved within Fort Churchill State Historic Park[5]
Frenchman		Churchill	1906	1920		The site was also known as "Frenchy's and later as Bermond Station from 1920—26[3]
Genoa		Douglas	1851
Golconda		Humboldt	1869	1908		Golconda's hot springs were a famous landmark for westbound travelers.[3]
Gold Center		Nye
Gold Point		Esmeralda
Goldfield		Esmeralda			Historic site
Goodsprings		Clark	1900
Grantsville		Nye
Hamilton		White Pine	1868	1931		Hamilton was originally called Cave City, because early arrivals set up camp in nearby caves.[3]
Hardin City		Humboldt	1858	1866	Neglected
Hiko		Lincoln	1865	1882		Hiko was a Native American expression meaning "white man's town"[3]
Ione		Nye	1863	1930s		At its peak, Ione had 100 houses and a population of 500.[3]
Jacobsville		Lander	1859	Late 1870s		A Pony Express station and the first seat of Lander County.
Jarbidge		Elko	1909
Johnnie		Nye	1890	1935		Water in town was scarce. It was drawn from a spring four miles away, packed in canvas bags, and hauled to town by donkeys.[3]
Johntown		Lyon	1853	1860s	Barren Site	Considered to be the first ghost town of Nevada.[6]
Jungo		Humboldt	1911	1952	Barren	Post Office from January 1911 until May 1952.[7]
Jessup		Churchill	1908
Lahontan City		Churchill	1911	1915	Neglected	Developed to house workers during the construction of Lahontan Dam[8]
Lander		Lander	1880	1921
Logan		Lincoln	1865	1930
Louisville		Clark	1861	1862		In El Dorado Canyon (Nevada) near the Techatticup Mine in the Colorado Mining District.
Lucky Jim Camp		Clark	1862		Barren Site	In El Dorado Canyon (Nevada) near the Techatticup Mine in the Colorado Mining District.
Mazuma		Pershing	1907	1912		Post office: 1907-1912. Site of flash flood that killed at least 8 and destroyed most of the town.[3]
Marietta		Mineral
Metropolis		Elko	1909
Midas		Elko	1908	1942		The camp was first called Gold Circle, but when the post office was established in 1907, officials decided that Nevada had too many towns with "gold" in their names, and the town was renamed Midas[3]
Miller's		Esmeralda
Miriam		Churchill				Non-agency station of the SPRR[9]
Mountain City		Elko
Nevada City		Churchill	1916	1919		A co-operative colony
Ocala		Churchill
Osceola		White Pine
Palisade		Eureka	1868	1910
Palmetto		Esmeralda	1866	1920s		Miners named the town after local Joshua trees, which they thought were related to the Palmetto tree.
Parran		Churchill	1910			A telegraph station and post office. PO closed 1913[10]
Pine Grove		Lyon	1866	1918		Several buildings remain.[4]
Pioneer		Nye	1908			Post office 1909–1931
Poeville		Washoe	1864	1880		Post office 1874–1878
Potosi		Clark
Quartz Mountain		Nye
Ragtown		Churchill	1854			Leeteville may be the same location
Rawhide		Mineral	1907			Devastating fire in 1908, $1 million in property damage and thousands left homeless.[3]
Rochester		Pershing	1912	1942
Rhyolite		Nye	1904			Post office closed 1913
Rio Tinto		Elko	1932	1948		A few houses and the school remain.
Rioville		Clark	1869	1906	Site is now under Lake Mead.	Originally Junction City, Rioville had a post office from 1881 to 1906.
Ruby Hill		Eureka	1873	1910
Ruth		White Pine
Salt Wells		Churchill		2007		Site of a borax plant, bar, gas station and former brothel />
San Juan		Clark	1862			The camp was abandoned just weeks after being established.[3]
Scossa		Pershing	1931	1937		One of the last important mining camps in Nevada.[3]
Seven Troughs		Pershing	1907	1918
Silver Canyon		Lincoln
Simonsville		Clark	1865	1870s	Barren	Originally called Mill Point, located west of the south end of Overton Airport and east of the Muddy River.
Spruce Mountain		Elko
Saint Joseph		Clark	1865	1868	Barren	Site located west of the north end of Overton Airport and east of the Muddy River. It burned down in 1868. Town name and population moved to what is now Logandale, Nevada.
St. Thomas		Clark				Submerged beneath Lake Mead. Ruins became visible when the waters of Lake Mead were lowered.
Star City		Pershing
Stillwater		Churchill	1862
Sulphur		Humboldt			Neglected
Tempiute		Lincoln	1868	1957		In the 1950s, the Lincoln mine was one of the primary producers of Tungsten in the U.S.[3]
Tenabo		Lander	1907	1930s
Treasure City		White Pine	1869
Tybo		Nye
Unionville		Pershing
Ute		Clark				Railroad siding and site of a silica mill in the 1940s.
Vernon		Pershing
Vya		Washoe
White Cloud City		Churchill				Also known as Coppereid
White Plains		Churchill	1879	1909		"No vegetation meets the eye when gazing on the vast expanse of dirty white alkali"[11]
Wonder		Churchill	1906			Post office closed 1920

References

1. Belmont Courthouse State Historic Park Archived 2012-02-15 at the Wayback Machine
2. Berlin–Ichthyosaur State Park
3. Paher, Stanley W (1970). Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. 69: Howell North.CS1 maint: location (link)
4. "Candelaria". Western mining history. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
5. Fort Churchill State Historic Park
6. "Johntown, the first ghost town in Nevada". Sparks Tribune. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
7. "Jungo Post Office (historical)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 1991-09-01. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
8. Lahontan City
9. Carlson, Helen S. (1985). Nevada place names : a geographical dictionary. Reno: University of Nevada Press. p. 169. ISBN 087417094X.
10. Carlson, Helen S. (1985). Nevada place names : a geographical dictionary. Reno: University of Nevada Press. p. 187. ISBN 087417094X.
11. Carlson, Helen S. (1985). Nevada place names : a geographical dictionary. Reno: University of Nevada Press. p. 245. ISBN 087417094X.

External links

• Forgotten Nevada - Abandoned and historical sites in Nevada. Pictures and directions
• Southern Nevada: The Boomtown Years 1900-1925