Patsy's Travels

Nevada

Searchlight, Nevada
Museum

Link to Searchlight, Nevada Chamber of Commerce

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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 following year, the Searchlight Mining District was founded, and a post office was established at the camp.

As word spread, the camp and its surrounding area were 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 with numerous claims and mines.

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

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.

According to the 2010 census, this now unincorporated town supports just over 500 people.

The last gold mine of the 1900s closed in 1953.