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Introduction to Goldfield -
Boom to Bust
 Situated
atop a small hill between the Superstition Mountains and the
Goldfield Mountains, 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, some prospectors
clung on to the area, sure to find the elusive Lost Dutchman Mine or
perhaps, a brand new vein. Others tried to reopen the existing
mines, but all attempts were unsuccessful until a man named George
Young, who was the secretary of Arizona and the acting governor,
arrived on the scene in the first decade of the 20th
century. Young brought in new mining methods and equipment to
recover the ore and the town began slowly come alive once more. Also
built was a mill and a cyanide plant. A second post office was
established on June 8, 1921 and the “new” town was called
 Youngsberg. However, the town’s “rebirth” would last only about as
long as it did the first – just five years. Finally, the gold was
gone, the post office was discontinued on October 30, 1926, and the
town died once again.
But
Goldfield was obviously 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 moved to
Mesa, Arizona in 1970 and soon began to dream of owning his own
ghost town. He had heard of the old site of Goldfield, but upon
inspection, he found little left other
than a few foundations and
rambling shacks. He and his wife, Lou
Ann, then located another
five-acre site that was once the location of the
Goldfield Mill and
decided with to rebuild the old town. Purchasing the old mill site
in 1984, they first reconstructed a mining tunnel, which included a
snack bar and opened for business in 1988. Next came a photo shop,
the Blue Nugget, a General Store, the Mammoth Saloon and the
Goldfield Museum.
Today, Goldfield is filled
with authentic looking buildings, includes underground mine tours,
and the only narrow gauge railroad in operation in Arizona. Numerous
shops and buildings 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, and sometimes authentic
gunfighter presentations.
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