Goldfield Ghost Town

Blog Date: 1/27/2022

Date Visited: 1/9/2022

Location: 4650 N Mammoth Mine Rd., Apache Junction

goldfieldghosttown.com

All content is © 2020-2022, Larry Nader Photography & Art

The Goldfield Mine’s history starts back in 1892 when, just over a year following the passing of Jacob Waltz, the Lost Dutchman, four prospectors from Mesa, Arizona were searching in the areas west and north of the Superstition Mountains when they found the deteriorated remains of mine shafts in an extremely old mining camp which was believed to have been from old Spanish activities in the area.

Encouraged by their find. the four staked claims for the area, the first being the Lucky Boy. A short time later they found a quartz outcropping that contained gold leading to the Black Queen, Black King, Tom Thumb, Mother Hubbard, and Mammoth claims. Then in April 1893, a storm created a flash flood in Goldfield Canyon that exposed a layer of bedrock that was laced with gold, and, by October 1893, Goldfield was booming with 30 buildings and 1500 residents.

The initial strike is believed to have been worth as much as three million dollars which was a massive amount of money for the time. Subsequent strikes continued to build and support its population of four thousand people.

In the 1890s Goldfield featured three salons, a general store, a blacksmith shop, a meat market, a schoolhouse, a brewery, and a boarding house. The town was growing rapidly thanks to the mining activity, but, just as it looked like the town would surpass Mesa, Arizona in population, the mine’s ore grade dropped and the town died a very slow and painful death.

Mother Nature giveth and she also taketh away and, a few years later in November 1897, another massive storm caused the failure of a local dam, and the Mammoth Mine was flooded. As a result, the mine closed, and the town of Goldfield was abandoned. In 1904 the Mammoth and other mines were sold to George Young. After several unsuccessful attempts to reopen the mines, the town did come to life again from 1910, on and off, until 1926.

After more than 115 years, Goldfield sees travelers visiting from all over the world for a glimpse into the historic past of Arizona’s wild west days. When visiting this ghost town and mine, you can walk down Main Street and explore the many shops and historic buildings. You can also tour the historic Mammoth Gold Mine and visit the Goldfield Museum, pan for gold, take a ride on Arizona’s only narrow-gauge train or grab a bite and a drink at the saloon. There are also old west gunfight enactments performed by the Goldfield Gunfighters.

Goldfield Ghost Town is located off Mammoth Mine Road near Apache Trail and sits at the foot of the Superstition Mountains, some of the state’s most picturesque and iconic scenery. Goldfield sits four miles northeast of the town Apache Junction which is about 35 miles southeast of Phoenix.