Rhyolite Nevada - Little More than a Memory

Rhyolite, Nevada - Page 3

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In January, 1908 the John S. Cook Bank building was completed, the ruins of which are today the most photographed site of all Nevada ghost towns. Also a large mercantile store was built and an impressive train station. The post office soon outgrew the tent and was reestablished in a frame building on Broadway. In July 1908, it moved to the 30 x 70 basement of the Cook Bank Building. But all of this was a little too late for Rhyolite.

After the 1907 Panic, more and more mines began to close and banks started to fail. At about the same time the gold started to pan out in the area mines. Soon, the trains were mostly filled with people leaving town.

When gold was discovered at the Pioneer Mine in 1909, several miles away, half of the population moved to Pioneer. It was at this time that the new two-story brick schoolhouse was completed which included both classrooms and an auditorium; however, it was used only briefly and was never filled. By the end of 1909, the population was well below 1,000, as the town continued to struggle to stay alive hoping for a new boom that never came.

Artists have been at work in Rhyolite, features

several pieces at the entrance to the old town site.

April, 2005, Kathy Weiser.

This image available for photographic prints HERE!

By 1910 the production at the Montgomery-Shoshone mill had slowed to $246,661 and there were only 611 residents left in the town. On March 14, 1911 the directors voted to close down the Montgomery Shoshone Mine and Mill. It had grossed almost $2 million and netted about $1.5 million, but it was severely in debt to the tune of about $200,000, mostly because of the mill. Two week s after the mine shut down, the final issue of the Rhyolite Herald was published and Clemens left for the coast.

By 1915, the town had only 20 people and the next year the power and lights were turned off. By 1920, Rhyolite’s population was just 14 and its last resident died in 1924.

Soon, the weeds began to overgrow the town but people continued to visit to see the old railroad station and the bottle house. The bottle building was restored and re-roofed by Paramount Pictures in 1925 for a movie setting, then given to the Beatty Improvement Association for maintenance as a historical site.

In 1936, N.C. Westmoreland rescued the depot and converted it into a casino and museum. His sister H.H. Heisler maintained it later as a museum and curio shop. Today, it is closed and stands on private property.

Paramount Pictures showed up again and used the deteriorating Cook Bank as a Mexican ruin, further damaging it in the process.

Today you can find several remnants of Rhyolite’s glory days. Some of the walls of the three story bank building are still standing, as is part of the old jail. The train depot, which is owned by the Bureau of Land Management, is one of the few complete buildings left in the town, as is the Bottle House, and a small stone cabin, which have been rehabilitated. Plans are in the works to restore the Depot as well. The ghost town of Rhyolite is on both federal and private lands.

Rhyolite is located 4 miles west of the town of Beatty, Nevada on Highway 374 in Nye County. The East entrance to Death Valley, Rhyolite offers photographers, explorers and ghost town enthusiasts a great historic experience.

More Information:

Rhyolite, Nevada

Also See:

The Bullfrog Mining District

Death Valley Ghost Towns

Frank "Shorty" Harris - Single Blanket Jackass Prospector

Rhyolite Casino Postcard

The Rhyolite Depot and Casino Today, April, 2005, Kathy Weiser.

This image available for photographic prints HERE!

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