It was the lure of silver that attracted newcomers to this unlikely town site in the Nevada desert. Just like dozens of other mining towns in the West, as word spread of a new strike thousands of prospectors packed up on their meager belongings and headed out to find Nevada's Toquima Mountains. By 1866 hundreds of miners had pitched their tents, businessmen and tradesmen poured in and buildings sprouted up like weeds. Five saw mills in the Belmont area were extremely busy during the late 1800s as wood frame construction was the quickest and cheapest building method. Supporting 2000 people, the town boasted of four general stores, two saloons, restaurants, a post office, assay office, bank, school, two newspapers and a blacksmith shop.
   Belmont, a Silver Bend mining town, thrived for nearly twenty years, and produced 15 million dollars in silver ore. Huge profits were never realized as the cost of doing business was extremely high. Due to the area's remote setting, construction material was expensive and freight costs for supplies whittled away at the bottom line. When claims began to run dry, equipment was moved to more productive locations and the remainder of the townspeople and businessmen began their mass exodus.
   Today, Belmont lives on as a historic ghost town, with a few scattered glimpses of its past vitality. Main street buildings, including the courthouse, miner's homes, a bank and mill buildings, still stand in various states of repair. Most likely seeing a flurry of activity 140 years ago, the courthouse is one of Belmont's most complete buildings. Serving Nye County for 29 years, in 1905 the county seat was moved to Tonopah and the brick courthouse closed.
   A popular weekend pastime today calls for a trip to Belmont and exploration among its ghost town buildings and ruins. Reminiscing about this past era of mining camp days and getting rich naturally stirs one's imagination. It's easy to get caught up in a dream of finding gold and silver, a miner's impetuous lifestyle and living for the moment. Once a beautiful mountain mining town, Belmont is now a wonderful living ghost town experience.

     Area Map
     Self-guided Tour Map