Rhyolite is a ghost town located near Death Valley. Shortly after gold was discovered in 1906, the town immediately boomed with buildings springing up everywhere. One building was 3 stories tall and cost $90,000 to build. A stock exchange and Board of Trade were formed. The red light district drew women from as far away as San Francisco. There were hotels, stores, a school for 250 children, an ice plant, two electric plants, foundries and machine shops and even a miner’s union hospital.
Ryolite, NV - Remains of Bank Building, 1907 In 1904 two gold prospectors founded Rhyolite which is the name of the silica-rich volcanic rock in the area. The town immediately boomed with a stock exchange, a Board of Trade, brothels, hotels, stores, a school for 250 children, an ice plant, two electric plants, foundries and machine shops and even a miner’s union hospital. The residents had an active social life including baseball games, dances, basket socials, whist parties, tennis, a symphony, Sunday school picnics, basketball games, Saturday night variety shows at the opera house and pool tournaments. The financial panic of 1907 took its toll on Rhyolite and in the next few years mines started closing and banks failed. Newspapers went out of business, and by 1910 there were only 611 residents. To learn more about Rhyolite, click here.
Ryolite, NV - Remains of Jail, 1907
