Death Valley Ghost Towns and Mines in California

Death Valley Ghost Towns in California - Page 4

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Furnace Creek Inn, California - Beginning as accommodations for employees of the Pacific Borax Company, it later was developed as a tourist destination. Today, it is part of the Furnace Creek Resort. More ...

Furnace Creek Ranch, California - Starting out as a supply point for William T. Coleman's borax mines, the area was developed into an oasis. Later, it became the property of the Pacific Borax Company. Today, it is part of the Furnace Creek Resort. More ....

Gold Hill Mining District, California - Located in the southwest corner of Death Valley National Park in the Panamint Mountain Range, Gold Hill once had several operating mines in the area.

Vintage Furnace Creek Ranch

Goldbelt Spring, California - A spring located southeast from Teakettle Junction, it had been long used by Shoshone Indians before prospectors began to comb the area. It was used later by miners searching for talc and chrysotile asbestos as a base camp. Gold was first discovered by famed prospector Shorty Harris a few miles south of the actual spring. Though there was talk of building a townsite, the ore wasn't sufficient to justify one. Harris also discovered tungsten here in 1915. In the 1940's, talc was discovered and mined in various locations, though this never amounted to much. Over the years several small mines were developed but none were major operations. Today, the area provides glimpses of flattened buildings and the spring is marked by an old dump truck.

Gold Valley, California - The rush to the Willow Creek District resulted in numerous small mines being opened up and introduced a townsite battle to the area. The Goldsworthy brothers, who were responsible for one of the bigger gold strikes, announced the formation of Gold Valley townsite to compete with Willow Creek. These brothers did not think small, and when the plat of their townsite was approved by the Inyo County Board of Supervisors, it showed an immense camp of ninety-six blocks, with over 1,200 lots surveyed and ready for sale. More ...

Grant, California - A small community located about 1½ miles south of Olancha, this place once served the many travelers making their way along U.S. High 395 to and from the Eastern Sierras. A market, gas station and hotel once operated here and pack trips could be taken from trailhead points west of the community into the headwaters of the Kern River. A few old buildings continue to stand at the old rest stop including the market and a gas station.

Greenwater, California - Located 5.5 miles north of Funeral Peak above southeastern Death Valley, the Greenwater District was established around a rich copper strike in 1905. There were actually three town sites in the district in the beginning -- Furnace, Kunze, and Ramsey, which, combined, are the history of Greenwater itself. The population grew to a about 2,000 people during its peak heydays. In 1907, all three town sites were consolidated at the Ramsey site, which was renamed Greenwater. Despite the fact that water had to be hauled in and sold at the price of $15 a barrel, the district bloomed briefly as a potential copper mining area from 1905-1908. It was best known for its lively magazine, The Death Valley Chuckwalla. However, when the mines failed to live up to the expectations of their investors it was abandoned and the people left for other areas. In May, 1908, the Greenwater post office closed and the next month, there was only one store and saloon left -- the Furnace Mercantile Company run by Ralph Fairbanks. When he left the following year, he hauled away the last of Greenwater's buildings to the railroad siding at Shoshone. By 1909, all mining in the area collapsed without ever showing a profit. Today, the old town sites of Furnace and Greenwater contain nothing but rubble. However, Kunze, which was the original site of Greenwater before its move three miles west to the Ramsey site, has more extensive ruins, including a stone dugout house. Greenwater is located in the southeast corner of Death Valley National Park, about 14 miles south of the intersection of CA-190 and Furnace Creek Wash Road.

Greenwater Mining District - Greenwater Valley was the site of one of the most spectacular booms in the history of Death Valley mining. Within a year and a half from the beginning of the rush to Greenwater, the deserted desert was home to over 2,000 inhabitants in four towns, 73 incorporated mining companies, and was the focal point of over 140 million dollars worth of capitalization. More ....

Harmony Borax Works (1881-1888) - The central feature in the opening of Death Valley and the subsequent popularity of the Furnace Creek area, the plant and associated townsite played an important role in Death Valley history. Borax was first discovered in Death Valley in 1881 by Aaron and Rose Winters, whose holdings were immediately bought by William T. Coleman and Company for $20,000. He subsequently formed the Greenland Salt and Borax Mining Company, which in 1882, began operating as the Harmony Borax Works. A small settlement of adobe and stone buildings were built plus a refinery. When in full operation, the Harmony Borax Works employed 40 men who produced three tons of borax daily. During the summer months, when the weather was so hot that processing water would not cool enough to permit the suspended borax to crystallize, Coleman moved his work force to the Amargosa Borax Works near present day Tecopa, California. Coleman also purchased the Greenland Ranch (later known as the Furnace Creek Ranch) immediately to the south, making it a supply point for his men and stock. There, he developed a virtual oasis from water that flowed from Furnace Creek.

Getting the finished product to market from the heart of Death Valley was a difficult task, and an efficient method had to be devised. The Harmony operation became famous through the use of large mule teams and double wagons which hauled borax over the long overland route. The romantic image of the “20 mule team” persists to this day and has become the symbol of the borax industry in this country.

The Harmony plant went out of operation in 1888, after only five years of production, when Coleman's financial empire collapsed. Acquired by Francis Marion Smith, the works never resumed the boiling of cottonball borate ore, and in time became part of the borax reserves of the Pacific Coast Borax Company and it successors. On December 31, 1974, the site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Managed by Death Valley National Park, the site displays ruins of the old refinery, outbuildings, and a 20 mule teams borax wagon. It is located about a mile north of the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, in Death Valley along Highway 190.

Harrisburg Camp, 1908

Harrisburg, California - This camp was formed after a free-gold discovery by Pete Aguereberry and Shorty Harris in the summer of 1905. Originally this town was called Harrisberry to capitalize on Shorty Harris' fame. History is unsure as to whether the original find was made by Aguereberry or Harris, but, when Shorty retold the story, he called it Harrisburg, and the name stuck. Pete Aguereberry, one of the original strike finders, spent 40 years working his claims in the Eureka Mine. Primarily, it was a tent city that grew to support a population of about 300. Today, the area is dotted with mining remains and still sports Aguereberry's old home and mine. There is nothing left of the townsite itself. Located in Death Valley National Park at an elevation of about 6,000 feet, the remains are located about two miles down the dirt road to Aguereberry Point off of Highway 178. More ....

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