Ghost Towns are arguably a product of the American West. Today there are 8,000 ghost towns in Western United States. In Southern Nevada, lies the Ghost Town of Rhyolite. A skeleton of a past community which has been completely abandoned. Patricia Limerick writes about Rhyolite as a place of American failure. She determines this failure by examining the environmental issues, logistics, the boom and bust nature of the west and the lack of long term planning accounted for the failure of Rhyolite. However, this argument is rather problematic when analysing Rhyolite as a whole. One has to note the success of Rhyolite in its years of activity. Furthering on from this, the interest of the town has brought much heritage and tourism to Rhyolite going forward, so this constitutes as success and not failure. Finally, what makes Rhyolite so special? It is important to compare Rhyolite to other Ghost Towns in the west in assessing how successful it was. Overall Rhyolite teaches us that the West is a place of opportunity but also of disappointment. Rhyolite is a story of the reality of industrialisation in the American West and not necessarily of failure.
Patricia Limerick is an imperialist historian and tells a story of conquest. Her view challenges Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis who viewed the American West as a process and argued American institutions evolved on the frontier. Limerick herself criticises Turner’s theory and says that Turner’s frontier thesis was misleading as the frontier really closed a century later. Furthermore, Limerick thinks of the West as a Place not a Process. So the notion that the frontier ended in 1890 is perhaps a myth due to the fact that Rhyolite only emerged in the 20th century. Most importantly, Limerick argues that the American West is defined by its Boom and Bust economy, which is important to think about when studying Rhyolite. Throughout her argument, Limerick challenges the ideals of American dream and dreams of Western Expansion. She argues that the west is not a story of “frontier adventure”, like Turner argued, but more a tale of the juxtaposition between success and Western enterprise or desire.
Patricia Limerick argues that ghost towns like Rhyolite failed. She presents four different reasons for this said failure. Firstly, the environmental aspects that settlers faced when they reached the American West, Southern Nevada especially has very arid soil and the climate in general was hard to live, let alone work in. In general, the settlers were completely unprepared for this venture and couldn’t get used to the climate difference. Furthermore, there were huge spaces between settlements so there was in some cases no connection between the towns due to lack of railroads and/or highways, so ultimately, the town wouldn’t be able to sustain itself and therefore would ‘wither’ away. Rhyolite was home to gold mining so experienced the boom and bust nature of the American west. Limerick argues that only thriving from one income it was no surprise that the town died. Finally, Limerick notes that there was a lack of planning when settlers came to Rhyolite. Moreover, there was no thought in the longevity of Rhyolite or any other ghost town in the West. How would people live here in the long term and have a good quality of life? This ties in the ideas of environmental, economic and social aspects too. When the mining industry came to a halt so did the town, there was no real reason for the town to continue when Rhyolite ended.
Despite Limerick branding Rhyolite as a failure, one has to examine the success of the town in the years it was active. Muriel Sibell Wolle gives a more positive argument on Western Expansion. Wolle was an Art historian who travelled to the Ghost Towns in the west. She was also an artist who painted Western Ghost Towns along with her writings while she took this journey. Limerick notes Wolle’s work makes the American West a mythical and picturesque place but perhaps alludes to the fact that Wolle has ignored the failure. Wolle writes about her experiences when she went to Rhyolite and notes the progress of Rhyolite during the Gold Rush in Southern Nevada. Wolle writes that in 1905, the town planning for Rhyolite began and buildings ideas started to grow. There was great investment in this town for infrastructure with an Opera House, a $10,000 hotel and most impressively a $90,000 three story Bank building. The population of Rhyolite skyrocketed, and by 1906, there was 16,000 people in the new Western town. Rhyolite was full of life, and diversity- there was a residential area called Nob Hill which was home to ‘Women’s Rhyolite Society’, Churches built, both presbyterian and catholic, and three active newspapers. The height of the boom in Rhyolite brought $3,000,000 into the town and more than a thousand men were employed to work on the mines. Despite the instability and financial crisis in America in 1907, this did not impact the success in Rhyolite at this time. The mining industry was still thriving and a growing economy in this town. Erle R. Clemens, who was the editor of the Rhyolite Herald writes, “finds the district enjoying the greatest prosperity in its history from a standpoint of ore production and mine development”. This quote really tells a story of western expansion at its peak and the success of gold mining in Rhyolite. Wolle does paint a picture of success and growth of the Rhyolite boom but doesn’t shy away from the bust. In 1910, she notes that there was a turning point in Rhyolite, the mining industry started to deafen and the population did too, numbers went from 12,000 to 700. By 1911 people dropped everything and fled, houses that were fully furnished and offices that were vibrant were abandoned. The town began to empty and buildings were demolished. This shows a story of how quickly things changed in the mining towns. When the industry died, people moved onto other ventures and in this case left Rhyolite behind. While Limerick comments on the failure of Rhyolite in the late 1990s when the town had been dead nearly 80 years, this failure must be more apparent now because it is hard to imagine life when there is literally nothing to show for it but ruins. Wolle provides a bit of background and life to Rhyolite. One can gather that just because Rhyolite is dead or redundant doesn’t mean it failed at the time. Overall, it had five years of great progress in mining story before people moved on.
When thinking about Rhyolite it is important to note how historians view ruins. Limerick discusses the long standing heritage of respect for ruins. This gives a different perspective when looking at Rhyolite as historians may see Rhyolite as the remains of the American West in the early 20th century. Moreover, Limerick notes that many historians have compared other ruins to Rhyolite. For example, Edward Gibbon writes about Rome, “the day, the hour, the most interesting in my literary life. It was on the fifteen of October [1794], in the gloom of evening, as I sat musing the Capitol … that the idea of writing the decline and fall of the City first started to my mind.” Limerick acknowledges that there is validity in comparing the fall of the Roman Empire to ‘fall’ of Western Expansion. She goes on to say that there is no reason why one can’t compare the two, as ruins are still ruins – whether they are centuries old or connected to Europe at all. Therefore, when thinking about Rhyolite we can use other fallen empires or towns to provide evidence to support that it was not a failure. Instead, the ruins are something for historians to admire. Elihu Rubin talks about these ruins and how the imagination is necessary to be a part of this imagined past. She says, “As buildings recede into the landscape, they take on new beauty and resonance… Foundations alone are often not enough: we must still perceive a discrete town, however fragmented; a sense of the street; a place substantial enough to offer our imaginations vivid scenes of the past.” This idea that Rubin coins of Rhyolite a ‘pilgrimage’ to visit the myth and legend of the west is an interesting notion. This argument shows the importance of Rhyolite and Ghost Towns as a concept that defined Western history.
The boom of Rhyolite is illustrated by the photographs of the town. When looking at photographs of Rhyolite one is able to imagine the life of the people who lived there decades ago. Rubin comments on this, and argues the photography of Rhyolite has added to the romantic element of the west and gives the onlooker a sense of progress but also conquest due to the vast nature of the desert where the ruins lie. For example, when one looks at these photos of Rhyolite, it is almost bizarre that there is such massive buildings in the middle of an arid desert, giving a unique history to this ghost town. Therefore, Rhyolite is not ‘a landscape of failure’ as it gives people a sense of the reality of the American West.
Rhyolite has a great heritage and is a popular tourist destination, proving it is not a failure as people feel it still has value today. Limerick notes that Ghost Towns have become unique to the American West and have therefore been tourist attractions throughout the 20th century. More significantly, Ghost Towns are a part of Western history, you will not find any in the East of America as it is not as prevalent. Rhyolite specifically holds a place in American History. People travel to Rhyolite as there is a sense of an imagined past. Visitors feel part of a collective memory as being there actually gives them a sense of what life in the Western mining era was like. As it is a ghost town, when people physically place themselves in the West and look at the ruins, this gives them a sense that life really was here. In this way, if Ghost Towns are such an integral part of Western history how can we say that they are a failure. Ghost Town’s have brought tourists and interest towards the West so how can one assume this town is a product of failure. As well as the tourism attraction, Rhyolite is a fascinating story about an abandoned past. Short stories have been written about the town which give a sense of nostalgia, along with adding to the myths surrounding the American West. Diane Siebert writes, “in the desert, out of sight, Rests the town of Rhyolite, Where, back in nineteen hundred four, two prospectors in search of ore … And digging, watched their dreams unfold: Eureka! They’d discovered gold!” She goes on, “Soon families and their friends arrived. A little town was born and thrived. Its population growing fast Amid a desert, harsh and vast.” This contextualises the idea of Rhyolite and Siebert romanticised the ghost town as a place of dreams and American progress. This perspective shows the initial peak of the beginnings of a town during the Gold Rush.
Rhyolite attracted artists and sculptors and the desert or open space has become home to many art installations. Artists came to Rhyolite to display their work, most notably, Albert Szukalski, a Belgian artist who sculpted ‘The Last Supper’. Szukalski was one of the many artists who became part of the Goldwell Open Air Museum, which was situated next to the ghost town of Rhyolite. On first look, this ghostly interpretation of Leonardo Da Vinci’s work seems like a random placement of art in the middle of a ghost town. However, on closer analysis, this is evidently a reflection of the ghostly nature of Rhyolite itself. This adds to the fascination of Rhyolite and its legacy, as artists feel it has enough history to draw upon to create a “natural expression of the desert landscape.” Muriel Wolle helps one understand where the artists’ inspiration came from as she describes Rhyolite as an “even ghostlier skeleton – Rhyolite.” Furthermore, it also connects to Limerick’s ideas that Ghost Towns such as Rhyolite represent the life and death of the American West and notes the contrast between past, which was filled with life and now the present, an abandoned ghost Town. Therefore these ghostly figures that Szukalski sculpted seem very fitting. Therefore, the town has an eerie and ghostly atmosphere which has reflected on how people have responded to it.
Rhyolite has definitely become a creative concept not only in the art world, but also for Hollywood cinema, appearing in films like ‘The Air Mail’ in 1925. In Rhyolite, ruins were even restored for some movies. Such as in 1964 for the making of ‘The Reward’ when the Cook Bank Building was redone as the production company put ‘Wood and plaster trim and metal railings’ onto the structure. Rhyolite’s ruins were also used for the film ‘The Island’ where the wood, plaster and metal was removed and the Cook Bank building was returned to its derelict original skeleton. Some other film depictions using the ruins of Rhyolite are ‘Cherry’ filmed in 2000 and ‘Six String Samurai’ in 1998. This film industry’s interest in Rhyolite shows that it is a place of interest and somewhere that can be reshaped as seen by the restoration of The Cook Bank Building.
Tourism is at the heart of Rhyolite in the 20th and 21st centuries. Ghost town guidebooks fuel the romantic element of the American West. Patricia Limerick comments on the impact on Ghost Town guidebooks and says they have particular pattern when describing the guidebooks. She notes the mythical and fictional tone the writer's in these guidebooks have. She goes on to say that people reading the guidebooks, whether they are historians or not have romanticised the West and used imagination rather than actual historical fact. We have to use the argument with caution, she is clearly condemning the work of historians before her time, but guidebooks are still important to the historical legacy of Rhyolite. This is outlined by Elihu Rubin’s journal, who notes the historical importance of Ghost Town guidebooks. Rubin has a positive take on guidebooks saying it gives the reader a chance to step inside the experience of the explorer who has travelled to the Western Ghost Towns. She says in the 1950s and 60s, guidebook writing became popular and still hold relevance today. Rubin agrees with Limerick’s argument that Ghost Town stories in the guidebooks are parallel to each other. Rhyolite is just a product of a larger story of Western American History about Ghost Towns perhaps.
When thinking about what Rhyolite’s history communicates It is important to examine other ghost towns and assess whether Rhyolite was unique, or just a model for many of the other Western Ghost Towns. Muriel Wolle writes about her experience in Bannack, Montana. Bannack was also historically a Gold mining town but started much earlier than Rhyolite, in 1962. Wolle talks about the early settlers who came to Montana in search of gold and found Bannack, which was named after an indian tribe. The population grew over the next couple of years, however, mining towns were thriving more so Bannack decreased in relevance and people left after this short boom. Bannack and Rhyolite have much in common, they both experienced short periods of success before miners moved onto other areas to follow the Gold Rush. Another ghost town in Nevada was Goldfield, which was founded around the same time period as Rhyolite with a peak population of 30,000. Much like Rhyolite, Goldfield was filled with life when it was active- with hotels and other ruins which are still visible today. There is some continuity in these stories about Ghost Towns in the West, there is definite American progress but also a sense of moving on too when the industry changes.
In conclusion, it is important to understand why Patricia Limerick views Rhyolite as a failure, but realise that it is not necessarily the whole truth. Limerick argues that environmental failures, lack of future planning and the boom and bust nature of mining in the west ultimately led to the death of Rhyolite. However, one also has to consider the great successes when it was active in the early 20th century. A lively community with schools, banks, connections for settlers. Furthermore, interest in Rhyolite after its collapse it far more apparent that it is not a failure. The tourism and heritage of Ghost Towns such as Rhyolite prove that the ruins and imagined past still have a place in Western history and are significant for defining the History in the mining towns. Finally, comparing Rhyolite to other ghost towns such as Bannack and Goldfield speak volumes about the pattern of the mining towns in the 19th and 20th century America, for they are a symbol of American progress. Therefore, Rhyolite was not necessarily a failure despite it being dead or a ghost town. Moreover, it fulfilled its purpose for a short term period for this Gold Rush but ultimately the fact that it ‘died’ does not mean it was a failure.