Death Valley Ghost Towns of California

Death Valley Ghost Towns - Page 7

William T. Coleman's, Lila C Mine, purchased in the early 1880’s, it was named for his daughter. Coleman never developed the mine and lost it to Francis Smith, when his finances collapsed in the late 1880’s. Smith incorporated it into the Pacific Coast Borax Company, but did not immediately work the mine as he was focused on the mine in Borate. However, when those ores were nearly exhausted, the company turned its attention to the Lila C, which would soon prove to be one of the richest in Death Valley. Development began in 1903 and they soon discovered three beds of colemanite 6-18 feet wide and at least 2500 feet long. Steam traction engines hauled ore to Manvel, 100 miles away, until 1907, when the Tonopah & and Tidewater Railroad reached the area. A spur from the railroad was then built to the Lila C, allowing for much cheaper transportation costs.

Ruins of the Lila C Mine in 1943.

At that time, the camp’s name was changed to Ryan, in honor of John Ryan, a borax company executive. That same year a post office opened. The camp of Ryan peaked at about 200 people The opening of the Lila C. Mine caused the price of borax to drop 2 cents a pound to between 4 ½ to 5 ½ cents, causing a shutdown of the mine at Borate, as well as mines in Saline Valley and on Frazier Mountain. Through 1914, the mine would produce over $8 million in borax. With the mine playing out, the company town as well as its post office was moved to a site then called Devair and/or Colemanite. It too was called Ryan and the old Lila C, was then referred to as “Old Ryan.” The Lila C totally stopped production in January, 1915. It is located 6.25 miles southwest of Death Valley Junction. There is nothing left today except tailings.

Little Lake, California - Still inhabited up until just the last few decades, Little Lake got its start as a rest stop for travelers long ago. Once called Little Owens Lake, it was first a seasonal marsh until it was dammed in 1905 as a part of the Los Angeles Aqueduct system. While building the aqueduct, the Southern Pacific Railroad built the "Jawbone Branch" from Mojave to Lone Pine, which was completed in 1911. Standing in stark contrast to the black basalt lava formations surrounding it, the lake soon beckoned entrepreneurs who built a gas station, store, restaurant, and hotel at the south end of the lake. A post office was first opened in 1909, operating for two years, before being moved to Narka. In 1913, it was transferred back. In 1923, the Little Lake Hotel was opened doing a brisk business for tourists and sportsmen heading north to the eastern Sierras, or south towards urban Southern California. Old Highway 6/395 once passed right through the town, which thrived in the 1940's-50's. However in the mid 1960's the highway was rerouted to the east behind the town, causing fewer visitors to stop. In 1982, the railroad discontinued its line through the community, causing farther decline. In 1989 a fire ravaged the upper floor of the hotel, and it was closed. The post office closed its doors for the last time in 1997 and the following year the railroad tracks were torn up. In the summer of 1998, two flash floods wiped out what little was left to the town. Since then, the ruins have been removed and the old town is nothing but a flat place in the desert today. It was located 38 miles south of Keeler on U.S. Route 395.

Little Lake, California in its heydays.

Lookout City, California - In the Argus Range at the top of Lookout Mountain on the west side of the Panamint Valley, the Lookout District was formed in May, 1875. The principal mine was the Modoc which was bought in 1876 by George C. Hearst

and other capitalists who formed the Modoc Consolidated Mines Co. of San Francisco. The mining camp that grew up around the mine consisted of two general stores, three saloons, company offices, and as many as 30 other wood and stone structures. Other mines were soon developed in the area below including the Minnietta Belle. At first the Modoc, Lookout, and Minietta ores were reduced in the Surprise Valley mill at Panamint City, but in the fall of 1876 Hearst had two 30-ton furnaces built at the Modoc Mine. Remi Nadeau, freighter for Cerro Gordo and Panamint City, built a road up the Panamint Valley from the foot of the Slate Range to the Modoc and Minietta mines and was soon hauling charcoal by wagons and mule back to the Modoc furnaces from the ten charcoal kilns in Wildrose Canyon.

Lookout City, courtesy Umiyama

The Minietta Mine operated on and off until 1915. In 1924 this silver-lead-gold mine was reopened and the Modoc Mine was leased. Their slag piles and dumps were reworked, yielding gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc. In the mid-1930s the Minietta was leased and refinanced and a mill and modern equipment were to be installed. If gold and silver prices held, the future of the mine seemed bright. By 1938 the Modoc Mine had produced $1,900,000 worth of ore and the Minietta $1,000,000. Today there are several stone walls and foundations of the former townsite, as well as numerous mining ruins. Lookout is located on a mountain top about 15 miles southeast of Panamint Springs, California. It can only be accessed with a 4-wheel drive vehicle.

Loretto, California - Though mining in the area dated back to the late 1880's, no actual development was completed until the early 20th century. Getting its start as a copper mining camp in 1906, Loretto boomed briefly along with other copper belt neighbors Ubehebe and Greenwater. Before long the camp boasted several sturdy stone cabins and businesses as well as about 150 people. The district even attracted the attention of steel magnate and mining investor Charles Schwab. A smelter was built, but the ore was found to be rich only near the surface and did not continue deeper. Soon, the camp was abandoned. In the 1970's, the Bristlecone Copper Company came in to rework the mine dumps and built a modern smelter. It shut down in 1977. Today the area features a few stone walls, mining portals, and mining equipment. It is located off of Loretto Mine Road, southeast of Deep Springs, California.

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