Ghost Towns

Nevada’s distinct history is borne by the nearly 600 towns that rose and fell before the 1900s even had time to stretch its legs. The gold and silver fever that struck the nation resulted in a clamor that touched nearly every corner of the state. While most towns bore fruit only for short periods, they literally left their mark on the state’s landscape. Many ghost towns may have no residents, but they are still full of stories, if you listen closely.  

We asked to see your favorite structure for this issue, and with no guidelines other than that, our submissions ran the gamut. And we love it! From historic buildings to remnants of the past and impressive sites today, the photos on these pages reveal the Silver State is rich in structural art.

Oily indigo smoke billowed from a circular opening in the top of a strange beehive shrine, marking the near completion of a process as foreign as the 1800s Nevada frontier had ever seen. Weeks prior, cords of juniper and pinyon were lain into the rocky tomb, set ablaze, and cooked in the oxygen-starved environment, as observant eyes kept watch of the smoke, and attentive hands operated a series of flues. At first, the smoke burned white, then yellow for a couple days, then dark blue, marking the completion of the process. An uninformed Nevada frontiersman who witnessed these makeshift mausoleums may have attributed the colossal bulbous structures to the occult, maybe even gone as far as to believe they were a portal to the underworld.

ODYSSEY OF A GHOST TOWN EXPLORER FOURTH OF SIX-PART SERIES EXAMINES ABANDONED SETTLEMENTS OFF THE LONELIEST ROAD IN AMERICA. PART 4: THE ELK OF EBERHARDT BY ERIC CACHINERO I am of the deeply held belief that Rocky Mountain elk are among the most majestic and genuine creatures to walk the earth. I am also of the […]

  ODYSSEY OF A GHOST TOWN EXPLORER SECOND OF SIX-PART SERIES EXAMINES ABANDONED SETTLEMENTS OF SOUTHWESTERN NEVADA. PART 2: ROAD NOT MAINTAINED IN WINTER BY ERIC CACHINERO Sometimes we have the seasons in their regular order, and then again we have winter all the summer, and summer all winter. Consequently, we have never yet come […]

Tiny town serves as a perfect base for middle-of-Nevada roadtrip. BY MEGG MUELLER & ERIC CACHINERO There’s a funny conundrum travel writers often face. We’re tasked with discovering little-known gems and encouraging readers to feed their wanderlust and emulate our adventures. Except, we really don’t want any of you to go to Kingston. OK, that’s […]

THE METROPOLIS THAT WASN’T North of Wells lies one of Nevada’s more intriguing ghost towns, with zero ties to the state’s mining past. BY GREG MCFARLANE Many of Nevada’s ghost towns boomed, prospered, and faded in the 1800s, when the state was largely undeveloped and had no major population centers. It’s hard to believe that […]