13 Ghost Towns Across America, From Bodie To Zzyzx

The Blood-Soaked Story Of Nelson, Nevada

raduranga/Wikimedia CommonsDespite the town’s habitual violence, Nelson’s mines remained profitable until the 1940s.

The land around Nelson, Nevada, was once so rich with gold, silver, copper, and lead that the Spanish called it “Eldorado.” But this tiny town outside Las Vegas was also one of the most violent places in the Wild West.

During the Civil War, deserters flooded west to escape the conflict. Some settled in Nelson and found work at the Techatticup Mine. But life in Nelson could be dangerous. The town was in the middle of nowhere — and many of its residents were armed.

According to Travel Nevada, the closest sheriff was 200 miles away — a week’s journey — and often didn’t bother coming to Nelson when someone was killed. Gunfights and deaths became a daily occurrence, even as the mine continued to produce millions of dollars worth of precious metals.

Hypersite/Wikimedia CommonsNelson as seen from above. Today, it’s a ghost town and a popular tourist attraction.

Though the mine was profitable until the 1940s, Nelson didn’t survive the greater changes taking place around it. The creation of the Davis Dam and Lake Mohave reservoir in 1951 brought water right to the town’s edge. Its cemetery even had to be moved a mile up the canyon.

Today, Nelson is a ghost town. Visitors can look upon its old buildings, tour a mine, and even visit what appears to be a plane smashed into a dune — a prop from the 2001 film 3000 Miles to Graceland.

But if any ghost town had actual ghosts, it would probably be Nelson.

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