An Ode to the Nevada Ghost Town
Reynolds School of Journalism student Jacob Jacoby searches for the bizarre and the quaint in former mining towns across the Silver State.
Ghost Towns In Pop Culture
The term ghost towns triggers memories of watching a Spaghetti Western film. Two rugged outlaws sidestep in a circle, hands patiently resting on their holsters, waiting for the other to draw. A tumbleweed bounces past the horrified townspeople who watch the events unfolding in horror. For some reason, the dialogue doesn’t quite match up with what they’re saying.
Today, the ghost towns of the Wild West are a thing of antiquity. Instead of watching people courageously duel one another, we watch football players sustain head trauma on Sundays and other nights of the week. However, living in Nevada awards you the opportunity to time travel back to the days of Billy the Kid and Jesse James.
Despite what media might tell you, ghost towns aren’t completely abandoned towns that are haunted. In fact, many ghost towns throughout Nevada have populations of over 100 people, which we could call living ghost towns.
Towns Along Highway 50
Nevada’s Highway 50, appropriately nicknamed the loneliest road in America, stretches the entire width of Nevada — 362 miles. The drive is desolate, and it’s not uncommon to drive for hours at a time without seeing another weary driver. Highway 50 is punctuated by barren, sparsely populated towns that necessitate stopping to refuel: your car, your stomach, and — most importantly — your sanity.
Stepping out of my car in Austin, Nevada, felt like transporting myself back to the late 19th century. With the exception of the massive Trump/Pence Make America Great Again banner plastered to the side of the local saloon, the main road in Austin preserves the architectural stylings of the Wild West — creaky wooden patios, stone castles, and the occasional drifting tumbleweed. Home to Stokes Castle — the summer home for the late railroad magnate, Anson Stokes — Austin is home to a meager population of 192. Lander County, where Austin is situated has a population of over 5000. Austin, Nevada, by definition is a living ghost town: a deserted town with few inhabitants.
Another town along Highway 50 is Eureka, which is the alleged catchphrase of miners after striking gold or bubblin’ crude. While I didn’t find any gold or oil in Eureka, I was relieved to find a bathroom after driving a three-hour stretch without a break. Despite its tiny population of 600, Eureka is a rather successful town considering their gold-rich mines. However, even though Eureka is home to an elegant opera house and a Pony Express Deli, it fits the definition of ghost town, because on a national scale, 600 is miniscule.
Ghost Towns Along the 95
Unlike Highway 50, I don’t drive the 95 for leisure. I drive it to go home and see my mom in Las Vegas. While the drive can be excruciatingly boring, a keen eye allows you to spot out little gems interspersed throughout the long stretches of the otherwise exhausting drive. Heading north on the 95 to Reno gives you the opportunity to stop at the following ghost towns: Goldfield, Tonopah, and Walker Lake.
The open roads of Nevada grant you the ability to cruise at 70 mph, but allow you a little wiggle room in the excessively bare parts of the drive to go five miles over. However, I recommend something to calm the nerves when you inevitably shoot the gap between the semi in front of you and the vehicle in oncoming traffic hurtling toward you.
When approaching remote towns, it’s important to strictly abide by the speed limit. The vigilant officers of the Goldfield Police Department will promptly pull you over for going 40 in a 35 zone. The speed limit shifts as follows: 70 to 55 to 35 to 25.
Luckily, the abrupt drop in speed heightens your ability to scope out unusual treasures that are seldom-viewed to the untrained eye. For example, if you’re driving through Goldfield heading north and look very carefully you’ll spot a sign that reads GOLDFIELD GLORYHOLE. It’s important to be quick though, as the sign disappears between thoughts of “What is that?!” and “Is it worth it?”
Like many other towns in rural Nevada, Goldfield used to be a booming town for mining gold. However, as the mines ran dry, so did the population. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated a population of 268 in 2010. Also, like many other towns on the 95, Goldfield is an excellent place to walk around and check out the anachronistic sites and jewels that exist within the city.
Arguably the most common stop to fill up your tank is Tonopah, Nevada. You’re greeted by a Texaco gas station with suspiciously high prices and bid farewell from a Chevron sporting a combination Burger King/Subway. Tonopah, like Goldfield relies heavily on tourism and ticket revenue to support its economy. While its ghost town status is challenged by more savvy competitors like Austin, Tonopah is home to eerie relics like the Mizpah Hotel or the Clown Motel. While I’ve never had to spend the night in Tonopah and don’t plan on it anytime soon, their Yelp reviews dictate them both to be respectable establishments.
Your nearly-atrophied bottom begins to ache about 150 miles outside of Tonopah, but luckily Walker Lake is only 50 miles away. Offering scenic beach front property, Walker Lake is an oasis in the middle of the Mojave desert. If you’re diligent in your sightseeing, you can spot a vast expanse of land dedicated to housing broken down aircraft and a strip for drones to wreak havoc on countries across the world. Also, Walker Lake has a species of fish that is found nowhere else in the world called the Devil’s Pupfish. It’s been rumored that the stockpile of nuclear weapons the United States government supposedly gave up in the disarmament period of the Cold War is stored underneath the water of Walker Lake. The strange continues to grow stranger the further north you travel in Nevada.
Lively Cities with the Ghost Town Aesthetic
One of the most popular tourist destinations in Nevada is Virginia City, because it gives travelers from all over the world the ability to see life through the lens of the Wild West, sip a Virginia City sarsaparilla, and eat fudge. However, off the beaten path of Virginia City is home to 855 people whose lives are more than a tourist attraction. After trekking down to its residential neighborhoods, I was able to get a taste of the real Virginia City. If political engagement were determined by Virginia City bumper stickers, then Benghazi would have been a legitimate voter issue in the 2016 election.
Most of these towns share one thing in common: they were all mining towns. While it’s easy to forget there are communities between Vegas and Reno, the mining towns that built this state often have bizarre, intricate stories to them. However, it takes a lot of gas and patience to find them.
