Gold Point, Nevada, is a remote desert settlement in Esmeralda County, shaped by the rise and fall of the mining industry. What began as a small camp grew into a busy community as miners arrived in search of ore, bringing shops, saloons, homes and other businesses with them. But as the mines declined and major mining activity eventually stopped, the town’s fortunes changed. Today, its ageing wooden buildings, abandoned workings and quiet streets preserve the feel of a community built around a mineral boom.
According to a Bureau of Land Management assessment, Gold Point’s mining-driven population grew to about 200 people in the 1930s before falling to 23 by 1950. The 2011 Esmeralda County Master Plan stated that the townsite usually had only seven full-time residents. The BLM noted that the many historic vacant buildings left by the population decline later helped support a modest tourism and recreation economy.
