Rhyolite, Nevada is a ghost town in Nye County, Nevada west of Death Valley near Beatty, Nevada.
Gold was discovered in the area by Shorty Harris and E.L. Cross on August 4, 1904 and a gold rush soon followed. The town was named after the mineral deposits which contained much of the gold. The most important operation was the Montgomery Shoshone mine and a mill was constructed to process its ore. The mine was sold to industrialist Charles M. Schwab in 1906 for a reported 5 million dollars. By 1907, the town had electricity and its population may have reached 10,000 people. However, the Panic of 1907 is believed to have dealt a death blow to the town. Production began to slow down by 1908 and the mine and mill were closed in 1911. The lights and power were turned off in 1916.
The Bottle House, a house built from thousands of beer and liquor bottles by Tom Kelly in 1906, was restored by Paramount Pictures in 1925 for use in a movie.
Scotty's Castle in Death Valley is named after Walter E. Scott, who lived in Rhyolite and was a friend of Albert Johnson, a Chicago millionaire, who built the castle. Scotty spread the story that he had built the castle using profits from his gold mine.
Rhyolite, Nevada is a ghost town in Nye County, Nevada east of Death Valley near Beatty, Nevada.
The town was named after the local deposits of the mineralrhyolite which contained much of the gold.
The most important operation was the Montgomery Shoshone mine and a mill was constructed to process its ore. The mine was sold to industrialist Charles M. Schwab in 1906 for a reported 5 million dollars.
Rhyolite, Nevada is a ghost town in Nye County, Nevada west of Death Valley near Beatty, Nevada.
Although Rhyolite was relatively short-lived, its history of dramatic rise and swift fall is one of the most fascinating of any ghost town in Nye C ounty.
Rhyolite is clearly one of the best ghost towns in Nye County and in the state, not just because of the buildings but also because of the scope of change.
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