Goldfield Arizona – The Ghost Town That Refuses To Die

For a family-friendly adventure into how the West was in the late 1800s, visit Goldfield, Arizona. Located a short distance from Apache Junction, Goldfield is the only authentic 1890s ghost town in the Valley of the Sun.

The first gold-strike occurred in 1892 when J.R. Morse, Orrin Merrill and C.R. Hakes discovered a large body of ore. At that time, their find was dubbed the richest find in the world and ended up yielding more than $3 million dollars of gold.

About a year after their find, the town of Goldfield sprang to life. As miners found more and more gold, the town grew eventually reaching a population of 4,000 people. At its height, the town boasted 3 saloons, a boarding house, general store, blacksmith shop, brewery, meat market, post office and even a school house. Five years later when the veins ran out of gold, the town started to die.

Then in 1910, it had a small resurgence. A mill and a cyanide plant were installed and gold was again extracted from the ore.

The town was renamed to Youngsberg after George U. Young, who was the acting governor at the time. But by the end of 1926, the gold had run out again and the town again faded into history, however, the town refused to stay dead.

Today, Goldfield is a thriving tourist attraction not only entertaining, but teaching both children and adults alike what it was like in an old west town in the late 1800s. Perched on a knoll between the Superstition Mountains to the east and Goldfield Mountains to the west, Goldfield has several attractions for the whole family.

To see why Goldfield became a bustling town in the first place, take the 25- minute tour of the underground gold mine located underneath the town itself. The guides are well-versed on gold mining equipment from that era, how it was used and some of the history behind both the mine and town.

To see another way that miners used to find gold, stop in at the Prospectors Palace and learn how to pan for gold. They guarantee you will find some and even provide a little bottle to keep your gold in.

For more information on the history of the area, visit the Goldfield Superstition Museum and Lost Dutchman Hall of Fame. See the collection of maps, pottery and artifacts from the area. A featured exhibit in the museum is the Lost Dutchman Hall of Fame complete with maps and clues to the location of the legendary “Lost Dutchman Gold Mine”.

Tour the perimeter of the town and into the surrounding Sonoran desert on the Superstition Scenic Narrow Gauge Railroad – Arizona’s only narrow-gauge railroad (36”) in operation today. During the 20 minute, 1-1/2 mile narrated route, the locomotive engineer keeps you entertained with both the facts and lore of Goldfield.

For something at a slower pace, stop by the Goldfield Livery for horse-back riding or a carriage ride in the desert. If horses are not your preferred mode of transportation, jeep tours are also available from Apache Trail Tours located in the Peterson Mercantile building.

See some of the native desert reptiles at The Southwest Live Rattlesnake Exhibit. This is one of the largest collections of spiders, snakes, Gila monsters, scorpions and a host of other native creatures.

Walk up and down Main Street and explore the many shops located on both sides of the street. Be careful not to get caught in the middle of a gunfight. The Goldfield Gunfighters re-enact their gunfights Saturdays and Sundays on the hour from high noon to 4p.m. during the months of November to April. Witness what the West really was really like in the late 1800s.

Witnessing all that gunfighting builds up an appetite, so stop in at the Mammoth Saloon and Dining Hall for some of their western grub. Their deck, located just off of the dining hall, boasts some of the best views of the Superstition Mountains around. For dessert, walk down the street and enjoy an ice-cream cone from Miner's Grill & Ice cream Parlor.

After lunch, stop by for a visit at LuLu’s Bordello. If children are present, LuLu’s girls tailor the tour to the children explaining and showing them what it was like to be a child in the 1800s.

If children are not present, the tour is tailored to adults explaining what is was like for women out here in the West – both the good and bad. The girls always keep the vocabulary in mind so as to not offend anyone.

If you prefer to camp at Goldfield for a day, weekend or longer, give the Goldfield campground a call for their rates and availability. The campground is located at the edge of the town so you are within walking distance of everything.

Goldfield is a treasure in and of itself. So relax, bring your whole family and spend a rich, historical, fun-filled day at Goldfield. It is a trip the whole family will treasure for a long time.

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