Belmont is a ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 in Nye County

Nye County, Nevada

-National protected areas:* Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Death Valley National Park * Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest * Spring Mountains National Recreation Area -Demographics:...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The town is a historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

. It is Nevada Historical Marker

Nevada Historical Markers

Nevada Historical Markers identify significant places of interest in Nevada's history. The Historic Marker Program was initiated by the Nevada State Legislature in 1967 to bring the state's heritage to the public's attention with on-site markers...

 number 138.

History

Belmont was established following a silver strike in 1865. Other minerals, such as copper lead and antimony, were also mined in addition to the silver. The boom brought settlers in and the town of Belmont grew. In 1867, Belmont became the county seat of Nye County. The town boasted four stores, two saloons, five restaurants, livery stable, post office, assay office, bank, school, telegraph office, two newspapers, and a blacksmith shop. As the price of metals fluctuated, so did the fortunes of the town. By 1887, several of the mines closed. In 1905, the county seat of Nye County was relocated from Belmont to Tonopah

Tonopah, Nevada

Tonopah is a census-designated place located in and the county seat of Nye County, Nevada. It is located at the junction of U.S. Routes 6 and 95 approximately mid-way between Las Vegas and Reno....

. The mine dumps were reworked in the early part of the 20th century

During the 1870s it was known as a major mining boomtown producing gold, and was rumored to have a population of 15,000. Like many towns which are now ghost towns, this one lasted for only a short time.

Today

Some of the buildings are still standing, including the courthouse, the Cosmopolitan Saloon, the Monitor-Belmont Mill, and the combination mill.

Currently there are plans to renovate the boomtown into a small city. The plans have yet to be finalized due to the fact that the site is on government property. To the south of the site there is the Belmont Courthouse State Historic Park

Belmont Courthouse State Historic Park

Belmont Courthouse State Historic Park is a state park of Nevada, USA, in the Toquima Range of Nye County. It is located in the ghost town of Belmont, northeast of Tonopah, Nevada....

.

External links

• 10 July 2008 Time.com article mentioning the town
• Belmont photo gallery at Flickr
  Flickr
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