Walking the nearly empty streets of Goldfield, Nevada, you’re transported back to a time before the strip dominated the news in Nevada, a time before Las Vegas itself even existed.
With only 200 residents left, you’d be forgiven for thinking the town was completely abandoned. Tired brick buildings dominate the street corners above the crumbling facade of the old garage. Decaying buildings with boarded up windows cast a shadow of the apocalypse, and with nowhere in town to get gas, Goldfield, Nevada remains lost in time.
Established in 1902, thousands flocked to Goldfield to try their hand at mining for the precious yellow metal. By 1904, Goldfield was the most-populated city in the state with more than 20,000 people. You can still see the remnants of the three newspapers, five banks and infamous pub that required 80 bartenders to keep its patrons satiated.
But, by 1910, the gold deposits began to run dry. People left as quickly as they came. In three short years, Goldfield’s population shrunk to no more than 1,500. A flash flood and devastating fire in the coming decade left Goldfield a mere shadow of its former self.
In the remnants of the old gold rush town, people still survive and thrive. Today, the Santa Fe Motel and Saloon has been renovated and offers rooms to those who choose to overnight in the ghost town.
When you fly to a jet charter airport in Goldfield, Nevada, you’ll arrive at the Lida Junction Airport.
