Ghost Towns of Death Valley - Eastern Side

 

Written by Robert C. Jones

Kennesaw, Georgia

 

jone442@bellsouth.net

 

Click here to return to the "Ghost Towns of Death Valley" home page

 

Click here to purchase the booklet and/or DVD slideshow

 

 

 

See also my "Nevada Ghost Towns", "Ghost Towns (and Historic Towns) of Arizona", "Ghost Towns (and Historic Towns) of California: Bodie, Bay Area, Mojave", "Ghost Towns (and Historic Towns) of Mojave National Preserve" and "Ghost Towns (and Historic Towns) of New Mexico"

 

 

Inyo Mines

 

Published by Robert Jones

 

Copyright 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

 

 Robert Jones
P.O. Box 1775
Kennesaw, GA 30156

Table of Contents

Table of Contents. 2

Introduction. 3

Amargosa Borax Works. 5

Ashford Mine (Golden Treasure Mine) 6

Bonnie Claire. 7

Bullfrog. 9

Carrara. 11

Chloride Cliff 12

Death Valley Junction. 13

Gladstone Mine. 15

Greenwater District 18

Ibex Springs. 19

Inyo Mines. 21

Kasson. 23

Keane Springs. 25

Keane Wonder Mine. 26

Leadfield. 27

Lee/Lee Annex. 28

Lila C. Mine (“Old Ryan”) 29

Monarch Canyon Mine. 30

Rhodes Spring. 31

Rhyolite. 32

Ryan. 35

Salt Spring Hills (Amargosa Mines) 37

Saratoga Springs. 38

Scotty’s Castle. 39

Shoshone Caves. 41

Strozzi Ranch. 44

Tecopa Mines. 44

Sources. 47

 

Introduction

 

1925 photo shows the hazards of travel in Death Valley (from the collection of Juanita Kasson Ingram)

 

The photos in this portfolio were taken in and around the Eastern[1] part of Death Valley from 1996-2008.  Death Valley is truly an amazing place.  It contains the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere (Badwater, -282 feet below sea level), but is surrounded by extremely tall mountain peaks (including Telescope Peak, at 11,049 feet above sea level!).  The park itself contains 3,336,000 acres (90% wilderness), making it the largest national park in the contiguous United States.

 

Death Valley is also, of course, one of the driest and hottest spots in the world.  Average rainfall per year is only 1.65 inches!  The average high temperature in July is 116.2!  (The highest temperature ever recorded there was 134 degrees). 

 

Death Valley has a fascinating mining history.  Miners first passed through here in 1849 during the California gold rush, not realizing that there were vast deposits of gold and borax just waiting to be taken out of the mountains and Valley floor.  By the late 19th century though, large scale gold and borax mining operations were in full swing.  In the 20^th century, talc mining would join borax as the two most important minerals mined in the Death Valley area.

 

Ghost towns in general are fast decaying away, the victims of weather, vandals, and owner's neglect.  The 100+ ghost towns and mining camps within and near Death Valley are probably in better shape than most because of the preservative affect of the extremely dry climate, and the protection offered by Death Valley being a national park (and, earlier, a national monument).  However, the ghost towns here are slowly fading away.

 

In some cases, whole towns (such as Harrisburg or Kasson) have disappeared so completely that it is almost as if they never existed.  One should keep in mind, though, the temporary nature of many of these boom and bust mining towns.  Harrisburg, for example, was primarily a tent city.  When it went bust, the miners moved the tents to new claims.  Even in more substantial towns with wooden buildings, it wasn't unusual to completely move the buildings to a new area after the town went bust.

 

In general, the most common extant ruins in Death Valley include mill ruins, metal or stone mine buildings, mine openings, and metal water towers.  There are few mercantile or residential structures remaining (Rhyolite and Aguereberry Camp being two exceptions).  The best-preserved towns are post-1950s company mining camps (Ibex Springs, Broken Pick, Warm Springs, Keystone Mine, etc.)

 

In this portfolio, I have defined several different types of ghost towns:

 

      DEAD: Meaning that the former mining camp or town is completely deserted, and has no inhabitants or businesses. Chloride Cliff is an example.

      GHOST OF ITS FORMER SELF: Meaning that the population has decreased radically since the boom days, with just a few hardy souls keeping it alive. Ballarat and Rhyolite are examples.

      ARRESTED DECAY: Meaning that a governmental or corporate body is attempting to prevent further decay of the site.  Harmony Borax Works is an example.

 

Throughout this study, I have used a personal rating system (0 low; 10 high) to rank three categories in each ghost town.  These include:

 

      REMAINS: What is the quantity and quality of remaining boom-days structures in the town or area?

      ACCESSIBILITY: How easy is it to get to the site? 

      EXPLORING: How accessible are the buildings in the town?  Posted "No Trespassing" areas are rated low; open areas in National Forests/Parks are rated high.

 

This booklet focuses primarily on what there is to see in the Death Valley ghost towns today, as opposed to extensively examining the history of the sites.  I hope this little photographic study proves interesting to fans of these lonely reminders of our American heritage.

 

- Robert Jones, Kennesaw, Georgia

Amargosa Borax Works

 

Background:

During the heat of the summer 1884-1888, borax production was moved here from Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley.  20-mule teams were used to transport borax to the railroad from this site.

What is left to see:

Two tiny adobe walls.

Ashford Mine (Golden Treasure Mine)

 

Background:

The Ashford Mine (aka Golden Treasure Mine) was the raison d’etre for the better-known today (and much easier to access) Ashford Mill.  The mine started producing gold as early as 1907, but it was never a big producer.

What is left to see:

 

 

 

While you have to really want to get to this site (the 1.25 mile hike climbs 1100 feet up a difficult canyon), it is well worth it when you arrive.  There are three standing buildings, as well as well as ore chute and other mining remains.  Also – a spectacular view of Death Valley from the hill above the outhouse. 

Bonnie Claire

 

Background

 

      Station on the Bullfrog & Goldfield and Las Vegas & Tonopah railroads (1906 – 1928).  Tracks torn up and post office closed in 1931.

      Shipping center during construction of Scotty’s Castle in 1920s

      Lippincott Smelter smelted lead ore from Lippincott mine 1935-1953

What’s left to see

Significant ruins from Lippincott Smelter.  Across the road are the remains of the Montana Station Mill Site, which I believe is on the site of the original Bonnie Claire.  In the past, both sites have been posted private property, but when I was there in 2007, both signs were gone.

 

Bullfrog

 

Background

Bullfrog was essentially a suburb of the larger Rhyolite.  It only functioned as a town from 1906-1909.  Famous prospector Shorty Harris discovered gold nearby in 1904, and the Original Bullfrog Mine was opened.  Both Rhyolite and Bullfrog were decimated by the financial panic of 1907.

 

This 1905 photo of Bullfrog shows what is largely a tent city (Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-22696)

What’s left to see

Remains of the Bullfrog Ice House, and what might have been a jail behind a closed coffee shop.

 

Bullfrog Ice House

 

 

1918 stock certificate for the Pioneer Mine, part of the Bullfrog Mining District (located north of Bullfrog/Rhyolite)

Carrara

 

Background

Marble quarrying began in the area as early as 1904, with a town site dedicated in 1913.  The Post Office closed in 1924.  In 1936, a cement company built several buildings near the old town site, but never began operations.

What is left to see:

Ruins of several large, stone buildings (associated with the 1936 cement company).  Sparse remains of the Gold Ace Mine further up the hill, and of the old town site a mile to the south:

 

"Carrara is about 1+ mile south of the Cement Plant ruins. It is marked by a large, partly sawed slab of marble. The tramway went up from there. You can see three quarry sites at the top, though on my last run, there was wire across the road and signage. Both the LV&T and then the T&T ran spurs to the marble cutting. The town site is about 2/3rds of the way up. Many foundations and marked building flats, plus debris". (John A. McCulloch)

 

Chloride Cliff

 

Background:

There was silver mining in this area as early as 1873, but the remains today date from a c. 1916 mining camp.

What is left to see:

A few mine openings, scant mill ruins; a water tank several miles to the NW.  The site is very remote - during the 5 hours we were in the area, we saw no one else. 

 

This mid-1990s photo shows a cabin that has since collapsed (Photo by  Bill Cook, Mission Viejo, Ca)

 

Death Valley Junction

 

Background:

Death Valley Junction was created primarily as a railroad town, existing at the confluence of the Tonapah and Tidewater Railroad (which ran roughly north and south), and the Death Valley Railroad (that went west to the mines at Ryan).  At it’s peak, before the mines at Ryan closed in 1927, about 100 people lived there.  Today, it is closer to 20.  The two most famous buildings in the town – today the Amargosa Hotel and the Amargosa Opera House – were built by Pacific Coast Borax c. 1923.

What is left to see:

Various old buildings and ruins associated with Pacific Coast Borax, and the T&T and DV railroads.

 

 

Wild horses crossing SR 127, at the wild horse crossing

 

 

 

This page shows the postmasters in Death Valley Junction in the 1930s and 1940s.  For some strange reason, the post office insisted on calling the town “Death Valley”, instead of “Death Valley Junction”.  On the original post office application, the word “Junction” is repeatedly crossed out. (National Archives)

 

Harry P. Gower was a longtime employee of Pacific Coast Borax, and was manager of the T&T ranch at one time.

Gladstone Mine

 

Background

The Gladstone Mine is part of the Ibex Wilderness, located just east of Death Valley National Park.  The Wilderness was created as part of the 1994 Desert Protection Act, and now has 28,804 acres.  It is administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

 

The Gladstone Mine was probably connected to the Gladstone Gold and Silver Mining Company, established in June 1879 by Barton O'Dair, John S. Thompson, and Amasa C. Kasson (see section on Kasson). 

What is left to see

There is only one road in or out of the Gladstone Mine area.  As one enters the “suburbs”, one is greeted by three rock cairns on a hillside.  Two of the cairns have what look like tombstones attached to them.  Whether this is actually a burial ground (the hillside is very rocky), or they are just meant to greet the visitor to the greater Gladstone Mine area, I don’t know. 

 

As one walks around the hillside from the cairns, the first major structure is a multi-room stone building (no roof).  Further on are several smaller stone buildings (all without roofs).  At the top of the hill (and the end of the road) is an interesting cave and the ruins of a small stone building, seemingly connected (the cave has both a vertical and horizontal entrance).

 

The USGS map for this area shows the existence of a mill.  (The Thirteenth Report of the State Mineralogist for the Two Years Ending September 15, 1896 (California State Mining Bureau, J.J. Crawford, State Mineralogist, 1896) report shows the existence of a steam mill in “Ibex”, but not necessarily at this site).  I not only didn’t find the remains of a mill here, I didn’t see any mine openings, either.  It very much seemed like a small town site or mining camp to me.  It could have been the original location of Kasson, although the remains are probably from a later date.

 

Welcome to the greater Gladstone Mine area

 

Multi-room structure

 

On the hillside, climbing towards the cave

Greenwater District

 

Background

 

This 1906 photo of Greenwater is part of a larger panoramic photo (Library of Congress, PAN US GEOG - California no. 181)

 

Greenwater District bloomed briefly as a potential copper mining area from 1905-1908, and then was abandoned when the mines failed to live up to the expectations of their investors (which included Charles Schwab).  There were actually three town sites in the District – Furnace, Kunze, and Ramsey.  In 1907, all three town sites were consolidated at the Ramsey site, which was renamed Greenwater. 

 

Greenwater District never produced any ore of note.

What is left to see

The town sites of Furnace and Greenwater contain nothing but rubble.  Kunze, which was the original site of Greenwater (before it’s move 3 miles west to the Ramsey site in 1906), has more extensive ruins, including a stone dugout house.

 

1998 photo of stone dugout building in Kunze (named after Arthur Kunze)

Ibex Springs

 

Background:

The Ibex Springs site as it exists today is a typical modern company mine camp, similar to Warm Springs or Broken Pick.  Most of the extant buildings date from the 1950s when talc-mining operations began.  Two earlier iterations of the town (1883 and 1907) were to support nearby silver mines.

What is left to see:

One of the most extensive extant ghost towns in Death Valley, with numerous standing buildings, and extensive talc mining ruins.  Especially interesting is the area around the springs itself, which has an oasis-type feel

 

 

 

 

 

Inyo Mines

 

Background

      Part of the Echo Mountain Mining District

      Active from 1905–1907; closed during the financial panic of 1907

      Operated again from 1928-1949

What’s left to see

Inyo Mine in Echo Canyon has some of the most extensive remains in Death Valley National Park.  Several cabins, the remains of a mill, and an old diesel engine are extant.

 

Nearby is the town site of Schwab (nothing left except a flat area), and the remains of the Saddle Cabin (which is said to have been associated with Inyo Mine.)

 

 

 

Kasson

 

Background:

Like Leadfield and Greenwater, Kasson was essentially a stock swindle.  According to Lingenfelter:

 

“Barton O'Dair had a claim called the Vulture, which he had opened with financial aid from Los Angeles attorney and city councilman John S. Thompson, among others. When they found the ore wouldn't pay, they decided to look for a buyer back East. They found just the man in Amasa C. Kasson, a Milwaukee sewing-machine salesman. Together they organized the Gladstone Gold and Silver Mining Company in June 1879, with $12 million in stock for sale.”  (p. 144)

 

Like the supposed wealth of the claim, the town of Kasson existed mostly on paper.  However, there was a post office there for several months in 1879, which was discontinued in November, 1879. 

 

 

The original application form for the post office was signed by none other than the aforementioned John S. Thompson, listed as the “proposed post master”. 

 

Where was Kasson?

Kasson is a “Lost” ghost town today.  It doesn’t appear on any modern topographical maps, including the USGS.  Some possibilities:

 

      Lingenfelter places Kasson about halfway (as the crow flies) between Tecopa and Saratoga Springs.  By my reckoning, that would place Kasson just to the west of Sperry Wash, which can be found on the USGS maps of the area.

      An 1885 map of Inyo County, made available on the Inyo County GenWeb (http://www.cagenweb.com/inyo/maps.htm) shows Kasson as being south (and slightly east) of the Amargosa Mines (at Salt Spring)

      On old postal route map, sent to me by noted Death Valley and Mojave Historian Larry Vredenburgh, places Kasson to the west of modern SR 127, at the point where the Amargosa River begins its U-turn into Death Valley.  In modern terms, this would place Kasson several miles west of the SR 127, off of the Harry Wade Road (Saratoga Springs Road, on some maps).

      Blair Davenport, the Museum Curator of Death Valley National Park, e-mailed me a reference from the November 1984 issue of Desert Magazine, which places Kasson “12 miles northwest of Tecopa”.  Interestingly enough, there is a mine (probably from the 20^th century) named the Gladstone Mine located…12 miles northwest of Tecopa.

      The national archives list of post office applications in Inyo County states “The name of the nearest office to the proposed one, on the same route is Tecopa.  Its distance is 12 miles, in a north easterly direction from the proposed office.” (National Archives)  Note that the Tecopa referred to here is “Old” Tecopa, located near the Noonday Mine – not the 20^th century railroad town located 8 miles to the West.

      Do you know where Kasson was?  If so, please e-mail me at jone442@bellsouth.net.

Keane Springs

 

Background:

 

Keane Springs existed as a small town during the Rhyolite boom in 1906, mostly because of its water source.  It was briefly bustling enough to have a Porter Brothers store.  It was almost completely wiped out in a flood in 1909 (the town was actually built in the wash downstream from the spring!)

What is left to see:

The only thing left is rusted pipe and some low stone walls.  Note that the town remains are in the wash leading up to the spring/tree.

Keane Wonder Mine

 

Background:

      Major operations from 1908-1916 (a Post Office was in operation and 1800 tons of ore were crushed per month by 1907)

      Mining operations revived in the 1930s.  Most of the remains at the site date from that revival.

      Ore worth over $750,000 was mined here

What is left to see:

Scattered mill ruins and rubble at the base of the mountain.  Good remains of the 1400-foot tramway (dating from the 1930s) that goes up the mountain to the mine.  Mine openings.  Keane Wonder Springs are about a mile to the north.

 

Keane Wonder Springs near Keane Mine

 

Ruins of Cyty Mill, located near Keane Wonder Springs (1.5 miles north of Keane Wonder Mine Mill)

Leadfield

 

Background:

While the Leadfield site was heavily promoted to investors in 1926, little ore was ever mined here, as the quality of the ore was low.  The site briefly had a post office.

What is left to see:

Several corrugated iron buildings, one dugout building.

 

Lee/Lee Annex

 

Background:

Lee and Lee Annex were gold boom towns around the same time as the Rhyolite boom, and perished for the same reason – the financial panic of 1907.  During its brief life, there were numerous substantial (stone) buildings built here.  Rumors that the Tonapah and Tidewater Railroad was going to build a spur into the town briefly helped establish its bonafides. 

 

c. 1908 panorama of Lee, California (Library of Congress, PAN US GEOG - California no. 199)

What is left to see:

Numerous stone walls, cellar dugouts, and rubble over a wide area.  The highest stone walls are about two feet tall, and are located midway between the two towns (N of the “main” road).  Note also the interesting stone bridge that crosses the wash that leads to the aforementioned structures. 

 

Lila C. Mine (“Old Ryan”)

 

Background:

The original site of Ryan was at the Lila C. Mine.  It operated from 1907 to 1915, and was abandoned when “New” Ryan, served by the Death Valley Railroad, opened in 1915.

What is left to see:

Scant mill foundations, old water tanks, interesting concrete mine openings (or ventilation shafts?)

 

Monarch Canyon Mine

 

Background:

Monarch Canyon mine operated in the 1905-1910 era.  A one stamp mill was built in 1910.

What is left to see:

Pretty much all that is left is the interesting remains of the mill, which cascade down the mountainside.  Note to explorers:  the “path” to the top of the mill is very hazardous, and there isn’t anything all that interesting at the top anyway.

 

Rhodes Spring

 

Background:

Named after Albert Rhodes, a 19^th century miner.  The site served as a mill site for various mines as late as the 1950s.

What is left to see:

For a site so close to a paved road, Rhodes Springs has some well-preserved remains.  The most stellar example - a wonderful cabin, that still has covers on the mattresses, and functional kitchen and tableware.  Also at the site - a metal shed, a concrete water tank, and various mill rubble.

 

Rhyolite

 

Background:

Rhyolite is one of the most famous ghost towns in the old west, because of the large number of extant buildings.  Gold was originally discovered in the area by famous Death Valley prospector Frank "Shorty" Harris in 1904.  By 1907, there were four newspapers, three railroads, as well as a number of profitable mines and mills (one owned by Charles Schwab).  The financial panic of 1907 caused the boom town to go bust.

What is left to see:

 

Several streets are fairly intact, and there are impressive remains of a bank, school, jail, retail store, and the Las Vegas & Tonopah Railroad station.  Also, the famous 1906 bottle house, made out of thousands of beer and champagne bottles can be seen here.

 

 

c. 1907 photo of the Montgomery Shoshone Mill in Rhyolite (Library of Congress, PAN US GEOG - Nevada no. 4)

Ryan