usuSCA-P0126_Death Valley Region Photographs

Esmeralda Hotel in Aurora, Nevada, 1920s. Aurora, Nevada was a silver mining boom town founded in 1860. Aurora was in its heyday in the 1860s (Mark Twain briefly lived there), but it slowly declined after 1870. It went through a rebirth in 1912 when a new stamp mill and cyanide plant were built at the mines. In 1917, however, the mill closed down and by the early 1920s Aurora was abandoned. One silver gelatin POP print purchased from Amalgre Books of Bloomington, Indiana in April of 1997.

Gallagher & Brown liquor store/saloon in Aurora, Nevada, exterior. Aurora, Nevada was a silver mining boom town founded in 1860. Aurora was in its heyday in the 1860s (Mark Twain briefly lived there), but it slowly declined after 1870. It went through a rebirth in 1912 when a new stamp mill and cyanide plant were built at the mines. In 1917, however, the mill closed down and by the early 1920s Aurora was abandoned. One silver gelatin POP print purchased from Amalgre Books of Bloomington, Indiana in April of 1997.

Gravestone of William E. Carder. Inscription reads: 'William E. Carder. Native of Tennessee. Aged 33 years. Was assassinated in Aurora on the night of Dec. 10. 1864. I will avenge, saith the Lord. Erected by his Wife Annie E.' Aurora, Nevada was a silver mining boom town founded in 1860. Aurora was in its heyday in the 1860s (Mark Twain briefly lived there), but it slowly declined after 1870. It went through a rebirth in 1912 when a new stamp mill and cyanide plant were built at the mines. In 1917, however, the mill closed down and by the early 1920s Aurora was abandoned. This photograph was taken in the 1920s. One silver gelatin POP print purchased from Amalgre Books of Bloomington, Indiana in April of 1997.

Horse-drawn hearse in Aurora, Nevada, 1920s. Aurora, Nevada was a silver mining boom town founded in 1860. Aurora was in its heyday in the 1860s (Mark Twain briefly lived there), but it slowly declined after 1870. It went through a rebirth in 1912 when a new stamp mill and cyanide plant were built at the mines. In 1917, however, the mill closed down and by the early 1920s Aurora was abandoned. One silver gelatin POP print purchased from Amalgre Books of Bloomington, Indiana in April of 1997.

Shorty Harris and companion eating next to an automobile somewhere in Death Valley during the 1920s. Harris took most of the photographs in this collection of images taken in the late 1920s in the Death Valley area of Nevada and California including the ghost towns of Rhyolite, Aurora, and Calico. Rhyolite, Nevada was founded in 1904 after Shorty Harris and Ed Cross discovered Rhyolite Quartz at the Bullfrog mine. By 1906 the town had two railroad lines and a population of 10,000. The mines, however, did not produce as expected and by the early 1910s Rhyolite was abandoned. Aurora, Nevada was a silver mining boom town founded in 1860. The heyday of Aurora ran throughout the 1860s (Mark Twain briefly lived there), but it slowly declined after 1870. It went through a rebirth in 1912 when a new stamp mill and cyanide plant were built at the mines. In 1917, however, the mill closed down and by the early 1920s Aurora was abandoned. Calico, California was initially founded as a silver mining town in 1882 but by 1890 the cost of recovering the silver became prohibitive. The town, however, continued to exist until 1907 due to the production of Borax.

The train depot of the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad in Rhyolite, Nevada, 1920s. Rhyolite, Nevada was founded in 1904 after Shorty Harris and Ed Cross discovered Rhyolite Quartz at the Bullfrog mine. By 1906 the town had two railroad lines and a population of 10,000. The mines, however, did not produce as expected and by the early 1910s Rhyolite was abandoned. One silver gelatin POP print purchased from Amalgre Books of Bloomington, Indiana in April of 1997.

View across Death Valley from Chloride Cliff, 1920s. One silver gelatin POP print purchased from Amalgre Books of Bloomington, Indiana in April of 1997.

View of Rhyolite, Nevada showing the Overbury Building, 1920s. Rhyolite, Nevada was founded in 1904 after Shorty Harris and Ed Cross discovered Rhyolite Quartz at the Bullfrog mine. By 1906 the town had two railroad lines and a population of 10,000. The mines, however, did not produce as expected and by the early 1910s Rhyolite was abandoned. One silver gelatin POP print purchased from Amalgre Books of Bloomington, Indiana in April of 1997.

View of Rhyolite, Nevada, 1920s. Rhyolite, Nevada was founded in 1904 after Shorty Harris and Ed Cross discovered Rhyolite Quartz at the Bullfrog mine. By 1906 the town had two railroad lines and a population of 10,000. The mines, however, did not produce as expected and by the early 1910s Rhyolite was abandoned. One silver gelatin POP print purchased from Amalgre Books of Bloomington, Indiana in April of 1997.