About an hour south of Las Vegas is the old mining camp and revived town of Searchlight, Nevada. It all began when G.F. Colton discovered gold in 1897 and soon started the Duplex Mine. The next year, the Searchlight Mining District was founded and a post office was established at the camp. The origin of the town’s name has been speculated about for years, with some saying it came from a box of matches, while others claim it originated with the searchlights that were used to guide patrons into the brothels of the area.  

As word spread, the camp and its surrounding area as flooded with miners. In 1900, the Quartette Mining Company was formed, which would become the mainstay of the mining district, producing almost half of the area's total output. Two years later, the company built a 16-mile narrow-gauge railroad from the mines down the hill to its mill on the Colorado River. Boasting some 1,500 people in 1902, it was the largest town in the area boasting numerous claims and mines.

Continuing to grow, the community was called home to some 5,000 residents by its peak year of 1907, at which time it had 44 working mines, a telephone exchange, and numerous businesses including over a dozen saloons. However, that very same year, mining began to suffer as the quality and quantity of gold ore declined, which required additional capital to operate the mines.   

That same year, on March 31, 1907, the 23 mile Barnwell and Searchlight Railroad connected the town with the Santa Fe line to Needles, California and beyond. Though transportation problems for the ore had been solved, the mines were continuing to decline. By 1919, the train was running to Searchlight only two times per week and when a flood washed out the tracks in September 1923, train service was never restored.

People began to leave the area in masses and by 1927, there were only about 50 people left in the town. Mining revived for a short time when a new mill was built in 1934, but just a year later, it was closed due to lack of ore. Total production throughout Searchlight’s hey day years was approximately $4.5 million in ore.

Over the decades as recreational opportunities along the Colorado River began to be developed, Searchlight became a tourist and retirement community. Today, the small community, called the Gateway to Lake Mohave, sits just 14 miles up the hill from beautiful Cottonwood Cove, one of the best Large Mouth Bass fisheries in the American West. The Cottonwood Cove Resort and Marina are located inside Lake Mead National Recreation Area.