Shootout in Goldfield Ghost Town!

Hi Blog.  On Saturday, January 11, 2014, we went hiking in Lost Dutchman State Park.  We passed a ghost gown on the way.  As we hiked, we kept hearing train whistles and gun shots from the direction of the ghost town.  Must be some pretty noisy ghost.  We decided that, after our hike, we would stop to investigate.  As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, we came face to face with Arizona's only working narrow gauge railroad. Well, that explains the train whistle.

As we passed the train station, we could see at least a dozen buildings lining Main Street.

We stopped in the Museum to learn more. The settlement of Goldfield got its start in 1892 when very rich, high grade gold ore was found in the area. A town soon sprang up and on October 7, 1893 it received its first official post office.

This “official” find, coupled with the legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine, which had been circulating for years, led plenty of new miners to the area and in no time, the town boasted three saloons, a boarding house, a general store, brewery, blacksmith shop, butcher shop, and a school. For five years the town boomed until some 1,500 souls were residing in the burgeoning city.

But like other gold camps, Goldfield’s bustling days were quickly dashed when the vein of gold ore started to play out and the grade of the ore dropped even more. Just five years after it began, the town found itself quickly dying. The miners moved on, the post office was discontinued on November 2, 1898, and Goldfield became a ghost town.

However, Goldfield was not destined to die permanently. In 1966, Robert F. “Bob” Schoose, a long time ghost town, mining, and treasure-hunting enthusiast made his first trip to the Superstition Mountains and instantly fell in love with the area.  He decided to rebuild the old town. Purchasing the old mill site in 1984, he first reconstructed a mining tunnel.  We bought tickets for the mine tour and were told it would start right after the gunfight.

We enjoyed the show put on by the re-enacters and then headed down inside the old mine tunnel.  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable.  We learned a great deal about the mining methods employed in the late 1800's.

Much of the equipment used back then is still located on the property.

Even some of the old miners are here.

Today, Goldfield is filled with authentic looking buildings, which are now shops, include a brothel, bakery, leather works, a jail, livery, and more. The authentic looking street is filled with people in period costume, horses and wagons.  They even have real cowboys, which will take folks out for trail rides.

After a five mile hike and a mine tour, we headed back to camp for a soak in the hot tub.  From the hot tub, we could see the setting sun brushing the Superstition Mountains pink:

And so ends another adventure of Dave-n-Kathy!