Rhyolite

Probably one of the most iconic sites of Nevada, this classic Western "ghost town" is often featured on the covers of Nevada tourism publications. Rhyolite was founded in 1905 after gold was discovered in the area, and within a few years its population had grown to 8,000 people. Rhyolite reached its heyday about 1908, when it was the third largest city in Nevada. At this time it had 3 railroads, 3 newspapers, 3 hospitals, 19 hotels, 18 stores, an opera house, a symphony, about 50 mines and most importantly, 53 saloons. By 1914 the gold mines were exhausted and the decline of the city was as fast as its growth. In 1919 the post office was officially closed and the last inhabitants moved out. Rhyolite quickly became a ghost town as the disintegration of the buildings started and the desert took back its territory. Today all the wooden houses are gone, and just a few stone buildings are still standing. The Bureau of Land Management has volunteers during the daytime hours. Rhyolite is the home of the World Famous Bottle House made of 30,000 bottles. The most photographed ruin in Nevada is the Cook Bank further up Golden Street. Known as the "Golden Horseshoe", Rhyolite was the mining center for the Bullfrog Mining District. Classic ruins, interesting history and a day of exploring awaits you.

Source: Wikivoyage, „Beatty“ · authors per page history · CC BY-SA 4.0