The Queen City Of Death Valley known as Rhyolite once boasted a population of over 10,000 people making at at one time the 3rd largest city in Nevada. The town founded by Shorty Harris and E.L. Cross were prospecting in the area around 1904 a name that also popped up in our Nelson page. The had found quartz near a hill...word got out and soon many prospectors and there families filled the valley.

It was named Rhyolite because of its silica-rich volcanic rock found in the area. The town had boasted over 2,000 claims including the Montgomery Shoshone mine which relocated here from Bullfrog taking its citizens along with them to be closer to Rhyolite. Unlike most mining towns in Nevada this one perhaps was one of the more advanced once. By 1907 the town had electricity. The town also had 3 water systems, 3 train lines, telephone and telegraph office, an opera house, slaughterhouse, two train depots, symphony, baseball teams, tennis courts, 3 swimming pools, 2  under takers, 3 hospitals, 8 physicians, 2 dentist, 19 lodging houses, 18 grocery stores, 53 saloons, a Catholic and Presbyterian Church, Newspaper and even a red light district. It also boasted over 50 mines which I came across a few but most of them were sealed up or caved in.

The Rhyolite Herald proclaimed to the world that "Rhyolite is awakening" are you a live one or a dead one? We have no room here for the man who won't make a hustle for the good of his town. Despite the large size of the town it was nestled on 3 sides by hills and small mountains. The entire parcel of land was in use if you refer to the black and white photo below. 

There was two school houses built within the town which would occupy a total of 250 children. The second school that was built was very large but never was filled or barely used. There would be a panic in 1907 which caused the town not to recover and the town dwindled to just a couple hundred by 1910. What really happened is there was a financial panic and businesses started to shut down. The mines after awhile were so used that they were shut down and by 1916 Nevada Power and Light had to shut down the electricity. So therefore people moved on. Some moved to other mining towns and probably even Nelson which is near Las Vegas. When the mines play out so do the jobs. 

The town also had a train station which in my opinion is the most amazing site within this ghost town and maybe one of the most haunted buildings here. The first passenger train arrived here in 1906 and went right through the residential area up on the hill. The freight line however did not rather it went through the outskirts where 105 train cars could be unloaded or reloaded with ore. The two railroads common to the area were the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad and the Las Vegas & Tonopah Railroad. When the panic hit many people were on these trans abandoning the town some stayed behind praying for a new boom to occur. 

Now if you want to get technical about the structures in Rhyolite when gold was discovered most residents poured in from Bullfrog. It was said one hundred wagons were counted on the road to Rhyolite within 24 hours. It was not a far trip a couple miles. They said one man piled his blankets, water, food and tools on a wheelbarrow and pushed it the whole way. 

During the first few months the town as full of tent and canvas lodging houses. Even the saloons and stores were mere tents. Sagebrush and greasewood was used for fuel to cook on the stoves within the camp. The food had to be shipped in by teams and water came from the nearby Beatty which was very expensive. Lumber was extremely rare and there were plans to make this a permanent town so most structures were made out of solid concrete. 

The town was booming it had baseball games, balls, basket socials, tennis matches, Sunday School Picnics, basketball games, and even shows at the opera house on Saturday nights. It also had pool tournaments and the Alaska Glacier Ice Cream Parlor for the locals when it became very hot out in the warmer months. In 1905 the town had a post office which was closed down a few years later. There were over 400 street light poles that stayed lit 24 hours a day. This town could have been the next Las Vegas if it did not perish. 

One of the first buildings to be built here was the two story  Southern Hotel. In 1905 there were three stage lines the first one being an auto stage from the Tonopah and Goldfield Auto Company. Back in the day many other structures were built and they were made to last despite today they are in ruins such as the $90,000 three story Cook Bank, Jail House, Porter Brothers General Store, The $20,000 School which even boasted an auditorium and Tonopah Railroad Depot. The residents put there life savings and heart into these structures only to have them all fail. 

The towns founder Shorty Harris died penniless in 1934 when he only collected about $1000 in interest from the towns discovery.   The last resident in the town died in 1924 and the early 1920s only had about 14 residents. I am sure of there were any Ghostbusters living in that time it was a dream come true exploring all the various structures. 

One of the most famous sites within the town is the Bottle House which was built in 1905 even before railroads reached here. It was built out of 50,000 beer/liquor bottles and mud. At this time the cost of shipping was very high and Kelly could not afford to build a concrete structure. When it was complete he raffled it off and many families resides at different times here. The bottle house and railroad depot were preserved when the town was cared for in the 1920s and on by volunteers. The last family to live here was the Thompson's who took care of this house from 1953 to 1989. 

Also within the ghost town there is a strange art display called the Gold Well Open Air Museum. A Belgium Artist named Albert Szukalski put his works of art in the open desert in 1984 so that others who drove by could enjoy this strange art. There is a statue of bicycles, a millennium circle, cloaked white figures and even one art scene called the last supper with these ghost like figures. It really is one of the most spookiest parts of Rhyolite and you can see the photos taken for educational purposes only. 

Today Rhyolite remains one of the most photographed old western towns. Its a pretty popular place a great area to have a picnic and explore the area. Just make sure you get out of there before the sun goes down. Of course people still camp amongst the ruins, hike around the area, and explore I learned how paranormal this place truly is. 

There is alot of stories going around about people hearing talking, seeing ghostly figures, strange music, seeing miner like ghost, feeling watched etc. We heard alot of movement out here, seen something that was no ghost or animal that we startled, heard talking and even ghostly music. Its a pretty eerie place and all that remains are its ruins of the past and its ghost to go with it.

© By

Rick-AngelOfThyNight

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Daytime Photography

        Explorations Of A Ghost Town

Art & New Found Pals!  

Rhyolote Train Depot

Crumbling Foundations

Few Of The Many Mines In The Area