Location: Esmeralda County, NV Map
Found: 1880's
Official site
Gold Point Ghost Town is an abandoned settlement in Esmeralda County of Nevada, United States. Gold Point Ghost Town was originally found in 1880's. The place where Gold Point is today was originally known as "Lime Point" and began its history in 1880. This minefield was abandoned in 1882. Twenty years were made new discoveries of silver and gold deposits in Goldfield and Tonopah and some miners returned to Lime Point looking for ore. In March 1908, a miners' strike from the mine led to the creation of a new mining camp, then christened Hornsilver (silver chloride), was the birthplace of the current Gold Point. In addition to the silver local miners also discovered gold. In May of 1908 city gots its own newspaper that was published in the locality "Hornsilver magazine" and the following week the post office was opened.
During World War II all non-essential mines were closed, which is what happened with Gold Point. After the war, the mine continued to extract ore, but no longer of previous importance, until 1964, the year in which an accident with a dynamite charge occurred, caused the definitive deactivation of the mine. In 1967, the post office ended and then we have another ghost town in the United States. Since 1979, it has been Herb Robbins (also known as Sheriff Stone) who has made the preservation of Gold Point.
The old camp is a living history lesson with about
50 buildings still standing, including former Senator Harry Wiley's
home and the post office that now serves as a museum. The Post
Office Museum is open on most weekends and for large parties.
Memorial Day Weekend is the annual Chili Cook-Off with prizes and
drawings, food and drink, games and live music all day and through
the night. For a few days of the year, the population soars to 400,
but is usually seven. Gold Point is home to the High Desert Drifters
Western Historical Society; the club routinely performs western
reenactment and gunfights in the plaza. Guest services are available
year round, including electric hook-ups for RVs.
Nearby
nature sites include waterfalls and watering holes frequented by
wild horses and burros, Indian petroglyphs, fossils, petrified
woods, and a view of Death Valley National Park from Big Molly.