I’m walking through another of my favorite ghost towns, Gold Point, Nevada.
There’s a truck with a face here. With headlights for eyes and a grinning grill, it’s a dead ringer for Maynard, the old tow truck in the Pixar movie, Cars. That’s right, Maynard lives here. It’s a vehicle with personality, mostly painted a faded green, a hook and crane in the back, the bald tires frayed and flat.
The entire town of Gold Point has personality. It’s one of the best-preserved ghost towns in the country.
A cold breeze blows tumbleweeds across the street and between the buildings. I feel like I’m stepping back in time 100 years, to the lawless days of claim jumpers and cattle rustlers.
There’s a soundtrack that reinforces this impression. As I pass by the saloon the faint echo of an old time western drifts on the wind. I circle the building, but there are no other signs of life. The gravelly voiced actors sound like ghosts from days gone by. After all, those ancient horse operas are based on the real-life adventures of towns just like Gold Point.
It’s not completely abandoned. There are 6 full-time residents and 6 part-time residents. But on the day I visited I saw no one.
Silver, not gold, was the strike that brought people here first. In 1868 a town called Lime Point formed when silver was found nearby. The typical challenges of a mining town in the desert plagued Lime Point, though. Lack of water and the cost of freighting almost killed the settlement, although richer diggings in 1880 kept things going for a bit longer.
Lime Point went bust, but not long after the turn of the century, prospectors located a new silver vein about a half-mile away. There was so much silver all you had to do was shovel it right up off the ground! This type of super-gene enrichment was known as hornsilver, so they named the new town Hornsilver.
By 1905, the camp supported about 1,000 people, with 13 saloons to slake the weary miners’ thirst.
Claim jumping and the ensuing lawsuits closed the mines down in 1909. After re-opening in 1915, miners continued to eke out a living until 1927. Then the town experienced a new boom. Gold was discovered in Hornsilver’s biggest mine, the Great Western.
The residents changed the name of the town to Gold Point in 1932. Times were hard in those Depression years and the residents changed the name in a desperate attempt to attract investors.
Mining continued until World War Two when the government banned all mining except for those minerals needed for the war effort After the war, some folks drifted back, but the town was completely abandoned in the 1960s after a bad dynamite charge caused a disastrous cave-in.
The buildings lay deserted for a decade. A former resident, Ora Mae Wiley, did all she could to keep the town from falling completely apart.
A gentleman named Herb Robbins and a few of his friends began to purchase the buildings, one by one, in the 1970s. When Herb hit a big jackpot in Las Vegas a few years later, he used the money to purchase most of the buildings in town. He and his friends continued to repair roofs and lovingly refurbish interiors.
Some of the cabins are now part of a bed and breakfast. Profits from the B&B help to pay for the restoration and preservation of many of the buildings.
The B&B website says, “When you visit Gold Point you may not see anyone, but rest assured they are watching you.” Sounds kind of creepy, but basically it’s just a neighborhood watch program. The entire town is privately owned, so look but don’t touch. No souvenirs, please. Leave the artifacts where they lay. Neighbors looking out for each other are why Gold Point is so well preserved.
If you’d like to keep the ghosts at bay, visit on a weekend. The museums are usually open then. The town also has a big celebration on Memorial Day, with a chili cook-off, live music and raffle prizes.
As for me, I’ll visit when it’s lonely. I think the town’s apparent abandonment is part of the charm. I can’t wait to go back, and I’ll stay a little longer next time. But if you visit before I do, be sure and tell Maynard I said Hello!
Gold Point is north of Beatty, about 7 miles off Highway 95 on Highway 266.
