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 Rhyolite Ghost Town
In its heyday, between 1905 and 1912, Rhyolite was the biggest and
most prosperous town in the
region. Today, only a few of the more than one hundred
original buildings still remain but what is left is quite impressive. Rhyolite was an important piece in the overall mining
history of Death Valley and was one of the few mining towns of that era to build permanent
structures. As a result, this ghost town is one of the best-preserved and
most photogenic you'll ever find!
Rhyolite is a well-known ghost town and is a popular place
for visitors thanks, mostly, to its easy, paved access from a main highway.
You probably won't be alone when you do your exploring but we have never found
it to be "crowded". There are plenty of great ruins to see and they are
spread out over a large area so be sure to include this stop on your "must see"
list!
Getting There
The ruins of Rhyolite are just outside the National Park's
eastern boundary and in the State of Nevada. Once
you turn off the highway, it's an easy, paved road that will take you down
the main street of Rhyolite and all the way to the train station.
From the west (Stovepipe Wells): From Stovepipe Wells, go east on
S.R. 190 for 7.3 miles. Turn left onto the road that goes to Scotty's
Castle and Beatty, Nevada (S.R. 374). Go only 0.6 miles,
then turn right onto Daylight Pass Road (S.R. 374). Follow this route east for about 22 miles.
As you get close, watch for the sign indicating the turn-off to Rhyolite. Turn left onto the
paved road and follow it into downtown Rhyolite.
From the east (Beatty, NV): From downtown Beatty, Nevada, (the
junction of S.R. 374 and U.S. 95) turn left onto S.R. 374 and go southwest for 4 miles.
Just after the large, new Bullfrog Mine facility on the north side of the
highway, is the turn-off for Rhyolite. Turn right onto the paved road and
follow it into downtown Rhyolite.
About 1.0 miles after you turn-off of S.R. 374 is another paved road that turns
to the left. This goes to what little is left of the old town site of Bullfrog.
History
To tell the story of Rhyolite means first
learning a little bit about the surrounding area and what was going on at that
time. The first gold to be discovered in this area was found by
"Shorty"
Harris and Ed Cross in August of 1904.
They named their claim "Bullfrog" (supposedly after the frog-like shape of the
rock that they found the gold in) and the tent-city that sprung up near the
claim took on the same name. The entire area became known at the "Bullfrog
District".
By February of 1905,
Bob Montgomery had started the Shoshone Mine nearby and it was being touted as
"the new wonder of the west". This mine went on the be the
biggest producer of the day and was later known as the Montgomery-Shoshone and
owned by Charles Schwab. The town of Rhyolite, which got it's name
from the rosy rock found in the area, now sprang up to service the Shoshone
Mine. The two towns, less than a mile apart, competed
with each other but it quickly became clear that Rhyolite was the undisputed
"Queen City" of the Death Valley country.
Some of the other towns competing for business then were Beatty
and Gold Center (where the T&T railroad ended). Rhyolite,
however, grew to
become the cosmopolitan city that eclipsed them all. It is estimated that
between 3,500 to 10,000 people lived there during the boom years of 1905 to
1912.
In her heyday, Rhyolite boasted three water systems,
three
railroad lines, a telephone and telegraph office, electricity, three newspapers,
an opera house, a police and fire department, a symphony, baseball teams, tennis
courts, three swimming pools, two undertakers, two hospitals, eight physicians,
two dentists,
19 lodging houses, 18 grocery stores, over 53 saloons, over 50 mines within
the town site, and a stock exchange. Rhyolite boasted the first Catholic and Presbyterian
churches (one each) in the Death Valley area. Licensed
prostitution, however, was what financed the towns' civic services.
There were three railroad lines
in the area:
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The
T&T (Tonopah & Tidewater) Railroad stretching some 160 miles from Ludlow,
California to Gold Center, Nevada (south of Beatty); |
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The LV & T (Las Vegas &
Tonopah) Railroad that stretched 210 miles from Las Vegas to Tonopah, Nevada. Montana Senator William Clark
owned the LV & T along with the San Pedro,
Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad. Later, all were purchased by the Union
Pacific; |
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The Bullfrog &
Goldfield Railroad that stretched 67 miles from Goldfield, Nevada to Rhyolite.
This line paralleled close to the LV & T Railroad.
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In spite of it's cosmopolitan flair, Rhyolite's fate wasn't
any different from the dozens of other mining boomtowns of the era. By 1919, everyone had gone and Rhyolite
was a ghost town. Her buildings, at
least, still mark where the town once was. The same can't be said for Gold
Center or Bullfrog. Today, both towns are completely gone and the only
town to truly "survive" is Beatty - thanks, in part, to the fact that U.S. 95
goes through it.
Although Rhyolite lost the
ultimate battle, her ruins are still impressive. They
include Tom Kelly's Bottle House, the skeletal remains of the $90,000 three-story Cook Bank, a $20,000 concrete
school, a jail, the Porter Brothers' General Store, a train depot, and numerous other
foundations and walls. Rhyolite was unique as a mining town because it was
built with permanent materials; not just canvas and wood. The town
planners really wanted it to be more than just another temporary boomtown and
the Cook Bank was the town's most impressive symbol. It was a modern
three-story, four-floor building with time-locked vaults in the basement,
Italian marble stairs and imported stained-glass windows.
The
Bottle House was started in September of 1905 by a 76 year old miner from
Australia named Tom Kelly. Before the railroads reached Rhyolite,
materials were brought in by wagon and were very expensive. The
resourceful Kelly built his house with what was available; empty bottles and
mud. Six months and 50,000 bottles later, he finished his unique house.
He later sold the house and it has been occupied by several different families.
Paramount Pictures restored the house in 1925 and the Thompson's were the last
family to care for it from 1953 until 1989. Both the Bottle House and L.V.
& T. Depot are still intact because they have been occupied over the years.
As you
drive down the main street of Rhyolite (formerly Golden Street), you will notice a
strange art display to your left (north). This is the Gold Well Open Air Museum
and, since 1984, was the passion of Belgian artist Albert Szukalski. Szukalski
passed away in 2000 and the property is owned by his business partner in
Amargosa Valley. Feel free to look around and take pictures of the
artists' unusual and
dynamic exhibit. It is one more unique thing to see in Rhyolite.
The
(new) Bullfrog Mine, located just south of Rhyolite near S.R. 374, is owned by Barrick Gold Corporation
and has a carbon-in-leach mill
processing facility. In 10 years of operation the mine has
produced over 2 million ounces of gold. The mine was awarded the Environmental
Achievement Award in 1997 by the Governor of Nevada. Not only have they met and
exceeded all regulations by the Environmental Control Board but have taken
measures that were not mandatory to keep the area safe for both visitors and animals. They
have actively participated in the preservation of Rhyolite and the Railroad
Station at the top of Golden Avenue. The mine shut down around 2001.
Photography
Rhyolite is one of the most photogenic (and photographed) ghost towns
in the southwest. As mentioned above, it is one of the rare mining towns
that built permanent structures and many of them were multi-stories.
Photographing here is best done in either early morning or late afternoon when
the shadows are long and dramatic. There are plenty of opportunities for
great pictures at either time of day. The mornings will give you the
(sometimes snowcapped) Grapevine Mountains as a backdrop and the late afternoons
will give you views of the town looking east that can include sunset colors.
As for what season is best, we have
been there in both the winter and spring. Both of these seasons are likely
to give you passing clouds, maybe even thick storm clouds, and in the winter you
may find snow! Every time we visit this ghost town we are newly inspired!
 Photo Tours:
Rhyolite
Click on picture to enlarge
Pictures taken: 1995, 2000 & 2003
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Heading northeast on Nevada S.R. 374
towards Beatty. Look for this sign indicating the turnoff to Rhyolite
ahead on the left. |
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Driving into the town of Rhyolite. |
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This is Bonanza Mountain and the Gibraltar Mine. The road-cut going across
the entire length of the mountain is the old Bullfrog & Goldfield railroad
bed. Follow the paved road straight ahead to Rhyolite. The
short, paved road to the left goes to the town site of
Bullfrog but there is very little left. |
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Looking towards the town site of Bullfrog
from the paved road to Rhyolite. As you can see, there are no
structures left. |
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One of the buildings to the right upon entering Rhyolite.
This visit was near Christmas-time and the caretaker(s) of
Rhyolite had decorated some of the buildings. |
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One of the works of
Albert Szukalski. Szukalski supposedly modeled this miner, with pick
in hand, after the popular local prospector, "Shorty" Harris. Shorty,
however, had a mule, not a penguin, as a companion.
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The town site of Rhyolite looking
northeast. The Montgomery-Shoshone Mine is in the distant left of the picture. The structure on the far left is the train
depot. The road leading from the station and toward the
lower right of the picture is the grade of the Bullfrog & Goldfield
Railroad (circa 2000). |
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Rhyolite circa January, 1908 - also
looking northeast. |
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Same picture as above, but with callouts
indicating the various ruins and landmarks. |
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Looking northwest.
The ruins as seen from a block to the
east. |
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Looking north towards the LV&T depot. |
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Rhyolite circa January 18, 1909 - looking
west. |
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This building and the bottle house (next
few pictures) are the first buildings you see as you come into town. Normally, there
is a B.L.M. [glossary]
caretaker who asks you to sign in. |
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The famous bottle house built in 1905. Before the
railroad came to Rhyolite, one of its residents decided to build a house out of
materials that they had plenty of - glass bottles - most of which were beer
bottles. 50,000 bottles were used to complete the project. |
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A walk around the bottle house reveals some old pictures of Rhyolite. |
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A closer look at the bottle construction. The
Rhyolite caretakers do a good job of caring for all the buildings here.
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Even the walkway to the front door is made
of bottles. |
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The bottle house circa 1925 after it was
restored for the making of a movie. |
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Another example of the Rhyolite Christmas
spirit - a decorated creosote bush. |
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Here is a map/diagram from 1909 that shows the
building sites in the central part of Rhyolite. The
yellow squares and highlighting indicate the three major buildings that
still exist as ruins today. |
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Looking up Golden Street and the center
of town - the Cook Bank can be seen in the distant left. Picture was
probably
taken around 1908. |
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Looking up Golden Street today at roughly
the same location as the photo above. |
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The Cook Bank. The
remains of this three-story bank are still the most prominent ruins in Rhyolite. |
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The Cook Bank building looking west
toward the Funeral Mountains in Death Valley. |
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Another view of the Cook Bank building.
You can see why it is one of the most photographed structures of Rhyolite -
Beautiful! |
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A front view of the Cook Bank building. |
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The northern side of the Cook Bank. |
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Inside the Cook Bank. All four walls of the bank vault
are still in tact. |
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The Cook Bank as it looked around 1910 - just after Rhyolite's heyday. |
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"Death Valley" Scotty
(left) eating lunch with his
friend Wong Kee in the street next to the Cook Building (in the
background). |
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This picture appeared in a 1930s issue of
Desert Magazine showing the Cook Building after only 20 years of
decay. The picture was used as part of a contest which the magazine
asked readers to identify where in the desert this building is located. |
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View looking west toward the Cook Bank. |
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Building ruins south of the Cook Bank. |
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Remains of Rhyolite's leading merchant,
the H. D. & L. D. Porter Store. The Porters were brothers and their
business hauled goods up from Randsburg, California. The Porters sold
groceries, clothing, mining supplies and other things. Their slogan
was, "We handle all good things but whiskey." |
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The H.D. & L.D. Porter Store at its
best. It was built in 1906 but, by May of 1910, the
entire $25,000 inventory was sold in seven business days due to the
decline of Rhyolite. Notice the bakery on the right. |
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One of the best ruins in Rhyolite is the old two-story schoolhouse. This is a view of the north
side of the building looking south. |
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Looking northwest at the south
side of the schoolhouse. The walls of another building are in front. |
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The front of the schoolhouse facing
Golden Street. Unfortunately, vandals have carved their names into
the building's wall. |
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Looking at Cook Bank through two of the
windows in the schoolhouse. |
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Inside the schoolhouse looking west. |
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Looking southeast out of the schoolhouse. |
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Every town needs a jailhouse. |
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Another view of Rhyolite's jailhouse. |
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Looking north through a jail window, you
can see the Cook Bank building. |
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Rhyolite's railroad station circa 2004. All
railroads of the day came to this station including the T&T, LV&T
and the Bullfrog & Goldfield. The Bullfrog & Goldfield line had an agreement to bring T&T trains in
on their line because the T&T's line only went to Gold Center which is 5 miles
southeast of Rhyolite. |
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The west side of the train station which
is now fenced and is privately owned. |
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A closer look at the LV&T depot. (circa 1995) |
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At one time, the train station was a casino. |
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The south side of the train station. |
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The station in 1908. At the time,
it was considered one of the finest train stations in Nevada. |
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An old semaphore train signal stands in front of the
train station. |
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A closer look at the semaphore. |
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An abandoned Union Pacific caboose that probably made it up
here during the last years of the LV&T. Near the end, the LV&T was owned by
Union Pacific. The L.A. & S.L. on the caboose stands for Los Angeles and Salt Lake
which was another railroad line that the Union Pacific later acquired. |
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An old hut near the jailhouse. View
is towards the Montgomery-Shoshone Mine site. |
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Another small building near the
jailhouse. |
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Close-up of the previous small building. |
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Looking southwest at Rhyolite while driving down
the road from the Montgomery-Shoshone Mine. |
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When driving out of Rhyolite (near the
artwork of
Szukalski), look for the faint trace of the original road that linked Rhyolite
to Skidoo and other points south. This is the same old road that can be
seen near Stovepipe Well (see map). |
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Looking north from S.R. 374 near Daylight
Pass, you can clearly see the old road. The upper arrow points to Rhyolite. |
Back to Photo Tours or
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Montgomery-Shoshone Mine
Unfortunately, the
new Bullfrog Mine
(owned by the Barrick Gold Corporation)
encompasses the area of the original Montgomery-Shoshone Mine, so there is very
little evidence left of the old mine's existence.
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Montgomery Mountain from the north
(Beatty) side. |
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Panorama of the mine taken around 1910.
Unfortunately, there is nothing left of the large mill building seen on the right
side of the picture because the large pit of the
modern day mine is there now. |
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Another picture of the mine and mill when
it was in full production. |
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The new Bullfrog is a big pit mine and any
roads that used to exist from Montgomery Mountain to Rhyolite are long gone.
The "white stuff" seen on the left-side ledges is snow. |
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The ruins of Rhyolite can be seen in the
distance. This pit is where the extensive underground workings of the
Montgomery-Shoshone Mine used to be. |
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A view of the other (north) side of the
pit. Notice the various colors in the soil. This is a sign of
high mineralization. |
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Looking at the south side of the pit, you
can easily see the large vein that bisects it. Could this be where the
original mine was finding its pay-dirt? Again, the "white stuff" on
the ledges is snow (picture was taken in January). |
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This large "settling" area across from
the main entrance to Rhyolite is where the remains of Montgomery Mountain
can be seen from miles away. |
Back to
Montgomery-Shoshone photo tour, Back to Photo Tours or
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Last updated
March 03, 2007.
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