Rhyolite was one of the largest cities in Nevada by 1908. It's population reached approximately 8,000 in the city and 10,000 in the district. The boom years were from 1905 - 1912 when there was something for everyone and a dream for every dreamer. By 1919 it was all gone, and what you see today is all that is left of the wonderful city.

According to Shorty Harris and Ed Cross, there was free gold everywhere you looked, when they staked their claim in 1904. It sure didn't take long for word to get out, and before you knew it, a new city was in the making. Listen carefully, as you walk through Rhyolite. The sounds are many, and sights are wondrous. Look over there, it's a group of socialites dressed in silk, satin and pearls going to the opera house with their escorts. And there is old Maude the burro waiting for her lunch at Newton's Deli.

Rhyolite boasted 3 water systems, a telephone service, electricity, 3 train lines, over 50 mines, 3 newspapers, an opera house, the symphony, baseball teams, tennis courts, 3 swimming pools, 2 undertakers, 2 hospitals, 8 physicians, 2 dentists, 19 lodging houses, 18 grocery stores, 50 saloons, a Miner's Union Hall with 75 members, an ice plant, an ice cream parlor, foundries machine shops, hotels, post office and a very prosperous red light district. The social activities were many as they had baseball games, dances, basket socials, whist parties, tennis matches, a symphony, Sunday school picnics, basketball games, Saturday night variety shows and pool tournaments.

There were 3 bottle houses in Rhyolite, one belonging to Weyle. Mr. Weyle was an artist and his wife Rose, a singer.

Mr. and Mrs. The only one still standing through is Tom T. Kelly's bottle house, by far the largest and most famous of the three. It has three (3) 12 by 12-foot rooms and a full porch. No one has made up their minds yet on the number of bottle used. Everyone has come up with a different number, but you can count them yourself when you visit. If you get between 25,000 and 61000 we'll say that's close enough. Most of the bottles used by Mr. Kelly were Anheiser Busch or Budweiser as we know it today. But there are a few wine, soda, sarsaparilla and of course the patent medicines of the early 1900's.

The school bell is ringing, can you hear it? Maybe we will see Miss Pressor walking with some of her students. If you go down by the jail, say hi to old Joe. He will surely be there because he got drunk last night and started a little skullduggery. And be sure to pay your respects to Isabella while you are there, her grave is just east of the jailhouse. But that's another story. Don't be surprised at what you see or hear, remember, you are in a ghost town where anything is possible.

The ghost town of Rhyolite is on a mixture of federal and private land. It is not within the boundary of Death Valley National Park. It is located 35 miles from the Furnace Creek Visitor Center and 4 miles of West Beatty, Nevada on Highway 374.