Kunze, California.
Arthur Kunze, founder of the original Greenwater site in California, was a prospector more interested in copper than gold.
After tramping across the Nevada desert, he reached the Funeral Range and stopped at Bullfrog, Nevada, just long enough to secure provisions. Following the trail of other prospectors, he staked out several claims in the Greenwater District of Death Valley. Later, he returned to Tonopah, Nevada, where he displayed rich copper ores to several investors, hoping to sell his claims. In July, Kunze was successful, selling 16 claims to Charles Schwab for $180,000. Along with other investors, the Greenwater Death Valley Copper Company formed in August with a capitalization of $3,000,000, making it one of the largest in the Greenwater District.
With the company’s organization, the rush to the Greenwater District began. Kunze founded the original site of Greenwater, also called Kunze. However, it was consolidated with the nearby townsite of Ramsey in late 1906 and officially called Greenwater. The district bloomed briefly as a potential copper mining area from 1905 to 1908. But despite millions in investment and a significant boom in the district, which brought the population to about 2,000, no rich ores were ever found. The three townsites that made up the district – Kunze, Ramsey, and Furnace, which all later became Greenwater- were abandoned by the summer of 1908.
Arthur Kunze was one of the last to leave, allegedly broke, and gave his last possession to the driver who took him away from the once-promising district.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated October 2026.
Also See:
Death Valley Mining Camps & Ghost Towns
Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley National Park
See Sources.