Gold Point, Nevada
Encyclopedia
Gold Point, Nevada is a well preserved ghost town
in Esmeralda County, Nevada
.
When new discoveries of gold and silver established the major mining towns of Tonopah
and Goldfield, Nevada
in the early 1900s, a flood of prospectors returned to Lime Point. In 1902 silver was discovered in the area, and the old camp was revived and renamed Hornsilver (an informal name for the silver mineral chlorargyrite
). Scarcity of water in the area required that the ore be shipped to nearby Lida for milling. The nearest major supply town was about 250 miles north at Unionville, a mining town northeast of present-day Lovelock. The miners did not find silver in abundance, the costs of shipping the ore to Lida became too high, and, within a year, the settlement was abandoned.
In 1905, the Great Western Mine Company began operations about a half mile southeast of Hornsilver and discovered a rich silver vein which brought a stampede of miners back to the camp. In addition to the rich silver ore, gold was also mined in small quantities. By 1908, the tent homes turned into more permanent wooden structures and the camp became a town.
In May, 1908 the Hornsilver Herald began publication and the following week a post office was established. Before long the residents organized a chamber of commerce and numerous businesses sprouted up, including as many as 13 saloons. The chamber sought a railroad extension to Hornsilver, but this never happened. The nearest railroad depot was at Ralston, about 15 miles east of Hornsilver. As deep ore bodies were extensively developed, the town peaked at a population of around 1,000 with over 225 wood-framed buildings, tents and shacks throughout the camp.
The town’s original founders did not find the boomtown they had hoped for, as this strike also proved to be short-lived. In 1909, litigation due to claim jumping brought many of the area mining properties into the courts. These many lawsuits, along with inefficient and costly milling practices, halted the town’s growth just a little more than a year after it was established. Before long, most of its businesses closed and its residents again moved on.
But Hornsilver was not yet a ghost town, as mining operations resumed again in 1915. However, it must not have done very well as Charles Stoneham, of the New York Giants baseball team, purchased the Great Western mine in 1922 at a receiver’s sale.
In 1927, a miner by the name of J.W. Dunfee went down the mine and made an even better discovery – gold. Within a few years, more gold than silver was being mined and the town’s name was changed to Gold Point. It was after this discovery that Gold Point enjoyed its longest period of success, at a time that the rest of America was suffering from depression.
However, when World War II began, the government ordered all gold mines to shut down as nonessential to the war effort. Mining at Gold Point stopped, and once again most of its residents drifted away or went off to war.
After the war, mining resumed on a smaller scale and continued until the 1960s when a cave-in occurred from a dynamite blast at the Dunfee Shaft. More expensive to fix than the quantity and value of ore extracted would pay, the mine closed. Other than a few small leases and diggings, this was the last serious mining operation at Gold Point.
The old camp is a living history lesson with about 50 buildings still standing, including former Senator Harry Wiley's home and the post office that now serves as a museum. The Post Office Museum is open on most weekends and for large parties. Memorial Day Weekend is the annual Chili Cook-Off with prizes & drawings, food and drink, games for all ages, and live music all day and through the night. For a few days of the year, the population soars to 400, but is usually seven. Gold Point is home to the High Desert Drifters Western Historical Society; the club routinely performs western reenactment and gunfights in the plaza. Guest services are available year round, including electric hook-ups for RVs.
One can take a guided tour of the town and mill site or explore on one's own the remains of as many as 16 old mining camps and hundreds of mines within a short drive. Be aware of abundant wildlife. Nearby nature sites include waterfalls and watering holes frequented by wild horses and burrows, Indian petroglyphs, fossils, petrified woods, and a view of Death Valley National Park
from Big Molly.
There is a local legend
that the town is frequented by the headless ghost of Brittany Daniloff, the last woman to die in Gold Point. This accident occurred whilst the mine was being deconstructed and a support beam collapsed over the kitchen in which she was preparing scallops. On the night of December 21, 2010, the town will host its second photography competition where anybody who spots and photographs the ghost will win $500. The first photography night, held on October 4, 2010 yielded no successful results.
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 Esmeralda County, Nevada
Esmeralda County, Nevada
Esmeralda County is a county in the west of U.S. state of Nevada. Its county seat is Goldfield. Its 2000 census population was officially 971, making its population density 0.1045 inhabitants/km² , the second-lowest of any county-equivalent outside of Alaska. As of 2010, the population had...
.
History
The area that would become Gold Point was first settled by ranchers and a few miners during the 1880s. The small camp of Lime Point was formed a few hundred yards west of the present town, at an outcropping of limestone.When new discoveries of gold and silver established the major mining towns of 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....
and Goldfield, Nevada
Goldfield, Nevada
Goldfield is an unincorporated community and the county seat of Esmeralda County, Nevada, United States, with a resident population of 440 at the 2000 census. It is located about southeast of Carson City, along U.S...
in the early 1900s, a flood of prospectors returned to Lime Point. In 1902 silver was discovered in the area, and the old camp was revived and renamed Hornsilver (an informal name for the silver mineral chlorargyrite
Chlorargyrite
Chlorargyrite is the mineral form of silver chloride . Chlorargyrite occurs as a secondary mineral phase in the oxidation of silver mineral deposits. It crystallizes in the isometric - hexoctahedral crystal class. Typically massive to columnar in occurrence it also has been found as colorless to...
). Scarcity of water in the area required that the ore be shipped to nearby Lida for milling. The nearest major supply town was about 250 miles north at Unionville, a mining town northeast of present-day Lovelock. The miners did not find silver in abundance, the costs of shipping the ore to Lida became too high, and, within a year, the settlement was abandoned.
In 1905, the Great Western Mine Company began operations about a half mile southeast of Hornsilver and discovered a rich silver vein which brought a stampede of miners back to the camp. In addition to the rich silver ore, gold was also mined in small quantities. By 1908, the tent homes turned into more permanent wooden structures and the camp became a town.
In May, 1908 the Hornsilver Herald began publication and the following week a post office was established. Before long the residents organized a chamber of commerce and numerous businesses sprouted up, including as many as 13 saloons. The chamber sought a railroad extension to Hornsilver, but this never happened. The nearest railroad depot was at Ralston, about 15 miles east of Hornsilver. As deep ore bodies were extensively developed, the town peaked at a population of around 1,000 with over 225 wood-framed buildings, tents and shacks throughout the camp.
The town’s original founders did not find the boomtown they had hoped for, as this strike also proved to be short-lived. In 1909, litigation due to claim jumping brought many of the area mining properties into the courts. These many lawsuits, along with inefficient and costly milling practices, halted the town’s growth just a little more than a year after it was established. Before long, most of its businesses closed and its residents again moved on.
But Hornsilver was not yet a ghost town, as mining operations resumed again in 1915. However, it must not have done very well as Charles Stoneham, of the New York Giants baseball team, purchased the Great Western mine in 1922 at a receiver’s sale.
In 1927, a miner by the name of J.W. Dunfee went down the mine and made an even better discovery – gold. Within a few years, more gold than silver was being mined and the town’s name was changed to Gold Point. It was after this discovery that Gold Point enjoyed its longest period of success, at a time that the rest of America was suffering from depression.
However, when World War II began, the government ordered all gold mines to shut down as nonessential to the war effort. Mining at Gold Point stopped, and once again most of its residents drifted away or went off to war.
After the war, mining resumed on a smaller scale and continued until the 1960s when a cave-in occurred from a dynamite blast at the Dunfee Shaft. More expensive to fix than the quantity and value of ore extracted would pay, the mine closed. Other than a few small leases and diggings, this was the last serious mining operation at Gold Point.
The old camp is a living history lesson with about 50 buildings still standing, including former Senator Harry Wiley's home and the post office that now serves as a museum. The Post Office Museum is open on most weekends and for large parties. Memorial Day Weekend is the annual Chili Cook-Off with prizes & drawings, food and drink, games for all ages, and live music all day and through the night. For a few days of the year, the population soars to 400, but is usually seven. Gold Point is home to the High Desert Drifters Western Historical Society; the club routinely performs western reenactment and gunfights in the plaza. Guest services are available year round, including electric hook-ups for RVs.
One can take a guided tour of the town and mill site or explore on one's own the remains of as many as 16 old mining camps and hundreds of mines within a short drive. Be aware of abundant wildlife. Nearby nature sites include waterfalls and watering holes frequented by wild horses and burrows, Indian petroglyphs, fossils, petrified woods, and a view of Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park is a national park in the U.S. states of California and Nevada located east of the Sierra Nevada in the arid Great Basin of the United States. The park protects the northwest corner of the Mojave Desert and contains a diverse desert environment of salt-flats, sand dunes,...
from Big Molly.
There is a local legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
that the town is frequented by the headless ghost of Brittany Daniloff, the last woman to die in Gold Point. This accident occurred whilst the mine was being deconstructed and a support beam collapsed over the kitchen in which she was preparing scallops. On the night of December 21, 2010, the town will host its second photography competition where anybody who spots and photographs the ghost will win $500. The first photography night, held on October 4, 2010 yielded no successful results.
Neighboring cities and towns
- GoldfieldGoldfield, NevadaGoldfield is an unincorporated community and the county seat of Esmeralda County, Nevada, United States, with a resident population of 440 at the 2000 census. It is located about southeast of Carson City, along U.S...
- DyerDyer, NevadaDyer is a small village in Esmeralda County, Nevada with a population of 110 as of the 2000 census. Dyer is located on State Route 264, near Nevada's border with California in the Fish Lake Valley. Air transportation is available at Dyer Airport....
- Silver PeakSilver Peak, NevadaSilver Peak is an unincorporated community in Esmeralda County, Nevada, United States. It lies along State Route 265 south of U.S. Route 6 and west of Goldfield, the county seat of Esmeralda County. Its elevation is 4,321 feet . Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the...
External links
- official website
- Gold Point photo gallery at FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...