Nevada has more ghost towns than towns that survived. One of the best we have come across in our travels is the town of Gold Point. Isolated in a remote portion of the Mojave desert, its buildings have been preserved by an individual who purchased the entire town site with his winnings from a jackpot in Las Vegas.
The small collection of preserved buildings that is now Gold Point actually began as a small camp in the 1880’s that was known as Lime Point. It grew little until a couple of decades later with the discovery of silver in the area shortly after the turn of the century, spurring its first name change for the town to Hornsilver. The silver strike along with the last great gold rush in the American West led to the explosion of camps, town, and cities scattered along Nevada/California border. The inevitable and often repeated bust that came shortly after left the Mojave scattered with the abandoned remains of towns with names like Rhyolite, Bullfrog, and Gold Center along with a few towns like Tonopah and Goldfield that have been able to hang on but are shells of their former glory days.
Hornsilver held on and limped along until 1927 when gold was discovered in its mines prompting its next and last name change to Gold Point. While never a boom, the strike was enough to keep the town alive until a collapse of the mine in the 1960’s that shut the mine down for good. That was the final blow to a hardy town that then joined the long list of desert ghost towns of the area. The wooden structures spent the next several decades baking in the summer sun, some collapsing and giving in to time and the elements until their savior hit that jackpot and preserved what remained.
Thanks to that lucky slot machine in Las Vegas, we all now have the chance to take a step back in time and relive part of the wild west experience.
To find more interesting places to visit near Goldpoint, read up on our post about Scotty’s Castle.
Goldpoint, Nevada June 2013
Is this really a ghost town? Looks scary . Children are allowed to visit?
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It is a wonderful place to visit for the entire family (although bring entertainment for kids for the ride because it is a long way from anywhere.) There are more than a dozen buildings and quite a few abandoned vehicle that were left behind.
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I love ghost towns. It blows my mind that whole towns have been abandoned yet the structures still exist. It’s my dream to buy one of these towns someday and have all my friends live there:)
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If you are ever in Vegas, put a $20 in a slot machine and maybe you can hit a jackpot too to buy a town.
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This place is so cool. I would give anything to come visit somewhere like this and just explore like mad. It is beautiful, the fact it is a ghost town just makes it even more appealing!
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Never knew this fact about Nevada! Is this house in the picture located in Gold Point? Every thing is kept intact, its hard to believe that this perfect little house is actually abandoned!
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It is maintained now by the person who bought the property but had been completely abandoned for several decades.
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I have not visited a ghost town before but I would like to visit this one. It looks like it has a lot of old buildings and cars. I am interested to see those. I suddenly remember the Wild Wild West movie. Are there rattlesnakes here?
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Yes, they do have rattlesnakes there. The Mojave rattlesnake is poisonous and if not treated quickly for a bite it can be deadly.
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I would love to visit a ghost town! I got a little taste of Nevada and it seems very desolate…very deserty! Would love to see more pictures from this place if you have them too!
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I would love to do a photoshoot. True western vibes in the west! Thanks for sharing
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Thanks for the history lesson, I didn’t know so many towns like this exist in Nevada! Would love to experience the days of the wild west, seems like a very unique place to visit.
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Many of the best surviving ghost towns are in this region of Nevada and California are from this last boom. I will be profiling several more over the coming months so please check back.
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It would have to be so cool to visit a ghost town like this. So very different from the run-of-the-mill touristy experience in its authenticity and just plain fascination. Just reading about the history of the place was interesting. I’d also love to meet the guy who was motivated to buy and maintain the town.
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Of all the random things people buy when they win a jackpot in Las Vegas, a ghost town! I’d imagine Gold Point has a lot of history, what went on throughout the silver and gold rushes, the name changes etc.. with all the history, Gold Point would make a good location for a Quentin Tarantino movie.
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Sometimes, it’s not about the destination but the journey. Going to Gold Point might just be that kind of adventure. The transformative trip through the blazing heat, dusty pallets and ever present fear of rattlesnakes can do more to move you back in time than drive to Esmeralda County. It’s sounds like a trip to be experienced.
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I’d love to see more pictures of this place. Looks eerie yet so intriguing. The history is so fascinating! I’d rather take a trip to this place than Las Vegas! I am sure when one walks through this town vivid imagery would come alive! Perfect place for photo ops! 🙂
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I had no idea that there were so many ghost towns. It’s nice to see a few have been preserved for future genereations to see and explore. Even if they do have to try avoid the rattlesnakes
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You had me hooked on the first line – “Nevada has more ghost towns than towns that survived.” I had been wanting to go to Navada for a long. And I was this close. Hopefully soon I’ll be there and visit the place you wrote about so well. I love ghosts 😛
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I find Ghost Towns in the USA so interesting – and it’s crazy to think that more of them survived than actual towns! Thanks for sharing it’s history!
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Whoa that’s quite a jackpot. It makes for an interesting background of this place. I have always been in awe of Nevada after reading many stories around it. A road trip here is my dream.
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