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GHOST TOWN INVESTIGATORS: BULLFROG!

Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 April 2011 16:03 Written by Death Valley Videos Tuesday, 12 April 2011 11:05

Bullfrog! It's a place in Nevada and you can go there today! It's still there and you can see it. Well, what's left of it. It's a place called BULLFROG! Now you may not have heard of it, but in 1905 if you had said "Bullfrog" anywhere in America everyone would have known what you were talking about. Quite simply it was the biggest gold rush since 1849. Postcards of dancing bullfrogs, bullfrog jewelry and anything you could think of had bullfrogs on it! The two postcards above shows two aspects of Bullfrog. Promotion - cute, dancing Bullfrogs! And real life - the adventurous prospector with dreams of riches! It all led to excitement, excess and eventual decline! The dreams were always bigger than reality -- even in Bullfrog!

For the story of Bullfrog see: Chasing the Rainbow

Bullfrog is a ghost town right next to Rhyolite, Nevada which is 7 miles East of Beatty, Nevada.

Ghost Town Investigators Part 2

Last Updated on Monday, 21 February 2011 18:53 Written by Ted Faye Monday, 21 February 2011 17:40

This week I'll be heading out to Rhyolite to start investigating its strange and unique past. Hard to believe that there were thousands of people living in this remote town hoping to get rich on its gold. It started out when Shorty Harris and his partner Ed Cross were prospecting in the hills East of Death Valley. They struck gold and the results soon grew into the boomtown of Rhyolite. The Los Angeles Times lists it as one of their TOP TEN GHOST TOWNS IN THE WEST

Ghost Town Investigators!

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Last Updated on Monday, 21 February 2011 18:52 Written by Ted Faye Saturday, 19 February 2011 14:53

Okay it's time to take a look at the West's many ghost towns in a whole new way. It's cool to look at the old relics and building remains but we're going to start investigating what happened in these places. These abandoned sites that represent the wild west aren't just piles of rubble, they're living windows into the way people lived and the things they did. They are, in fact, archaeological sites. And one of the best is Rhyolite, Nevada.

It's not far from Beatty just outside of Death Valley National Park. It's about 2 and half hours north of Las Vegas and is one of the most photographed ghost towns in the West. And it's the subject of our next Weird Tales! Look for Weird Tales 5: The Strange Case of Rhyolite, Nevada! It arose from one man's dream in 1904 and in less than 5 years the dream had nearly vanished. What happened during the short life of Rhyolite? Why did its population go from 6000 to 600 in less than a year? Why were the structures seemingly built to last? And what do these remains tell us about the people who lived there? Millionaires, Prospectors, Promoters, Murderers, Thieves, Prostitutes, Preachers, Indians, Shopkeepers, Freighters and others lived in this remote outpost on the edge of Death Valley. All had hopes and dreams. Most ended up disappointed, disillusioned and destitute. Join us on this blog as we invite you to become, with us, Ghost Town Investigators!

The photos above are the John Cook bank building. It's one of Rhyolite's most photographed features. Enjoy these photos from GHOST TOWN PHOTOGRAPHY.

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