Coaldale is a former mining town and true

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

in Esmeralda County,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, located at the junction of

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...

and

U.S. Route 95 US Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highways, US Highway in the western United States. It travels through the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho, staying inland from the Pacific Coast ...

about west of Tonopah.

History

Coal was discovered near Coaldale in 1894 by William Groszenger who sold 150 tons to the

Columbus Marsh Columbus Marsh is a playa in Nevada, United States. William Troup (or Troop) discovered cottonball borax at the site in 1870 or 1871. Joseph Mosheimer and Emile K. Stevenot, who operated one of the borax concentrating plants at Columbus, hired Fr ...

Borax works. In 1911, the Darms Mine and the Nevada Coal and Fuel Co. mines were in operation. Coal was found 4 miles SSE of Coaldale in the north end of the

Silver Peak Range The Silver Peak Range is a mountain range in southwest Esmeralda County, Nevada, United States. Geography The Range forms the east and southeast side of Fish Lake Valley The Fish Lake Valley is a longNevada, DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, c 2010 ...

. In the early 1900s, there was renewed interest in the coal, when Dr. Frances Williams of

Goldfield, Nevada Goldfield is an unincorporated community, unincorporated small desert city and the county seat of Esmeralda County, Nevada. It is the locus of the census-designated place, Goldfield CDP which had a resident population of 268 at the 2010 Unite ...

personally restaked claims. At the time, Groezenger retained the majority of the claims. In November, 1917, the Darms Mining Company asked the Nevada Railroads Commission to secure a rate of $3/ton to deliver coal from Coaldale to Reno. The

Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad The Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad, a railroad of in length in the U.S. state of Nevada, offered point-to-point service between Mina and Goldfield, running over the Excelsior Mountains and parallel to the Monte Cristo Range. It operated from ...

replied that while they had grave doubts about the value of the coal, they offered two plans: 1) where one or two cars would be transported to Tonopah, Goldfield and Reno and if the coal was usable, then a rate would be established for future shipments, or 2) a temporary rate of $6.35/ton would be used, which was the Reno to Coaldale rate. In February, 1918, Darms replied that the seam was too small to take advantage of either offer. In the 1940s, Eldon and Jewel Parson operated a gas station near the

grade. They later moved their operation about to the junction with Highway 95. The restaurant and bar buildings were part of a hospital in Tonopah and trucked to Coaldale. Coaldale had a store, cafe, motel and service station as late as 1993, but they are now abandoned, though still standing. Residences and other buildings have disappeared. The service station was closed down due to EPA testing in 1993 that found that its underground fuel tanks were leaking. Soon, the restaurant and motel closed, since the service station was the primary attraction for travelers. At some point before 2006, a fire destroyed the restaurant.

Trivia

In 1994, the movie The Stranger was filmed at Coaldale. The Stranger features

Kathy Long Kathy Long (born April 21, 1964) is an American kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and actress. Kathy Long Biography">USA Dojo >> Kathy Long BiographyURL accessed on October 7, 2010from the original on August 16, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. She ...

, female kickboxing champion, who battles bikers and saves the town. Wcd0313b

References

External links

ghosttowns.com: Coaldale
{{Coord, 38, 01, 39, N, 117, 52, 59, W, type:city_region:US-NV, display=title Ghost towns in Esmeralda County, Nevada Ghost towns in Nevada