Goldfield

Goldfield, Nevada was a boom town. Gold was discovered there in 1902 and within a few years it became Nevada's largest town with about 20,000 people. As of the 2010 Census the population is now down to 268 - via Wikipedia. This map, on display at the La Jolla Map & Atlas Museum, does a good job of conveying the chaos of the time.

Map courtesy of the La Jolla Map & Atlas Museum

Here is a close-up showing some of the competing land claims.

Companies came from near and far to set up shop - including ones from Baltimore, Chicago, Utica and Tonopah. A directory of all the companies is so large it takes up both sides of the map.

Here is the downtown with its grid pattern.

The 1907 directory lists "Saloons 49, Restaurants 27, Barber Shops 15, Bakeries 6, Assayers 54, Attorneys 84 (try finding one of those around here today). Brokers 162, Cigar Stores 14, Grocers 21. Hotels 22, Laundries 17. Doctors 40 (another hard group to come by), Undertakers 10 (they’d be the last ones to let you down)." - via Goldfield Historical Society. There was also plenty of labor unrest.

The U.S. Geological Survey "Goldfield Special Map" from 1908 also conveys a sense of chaos.

From the Perry-Castaneda Library - University of Texas

A 1907 railroad map of Nevada details the new routes through Goldfield.

By 1910 the population had already declined because the high cost of pumping out brine was making mining less economically feasible. A flood in 1913 and fires in 1923 and 1924 sealed the town's fate as a (partial) ghost town. 

Today Goldfield contains a handful of streets and businesses. Google Maps gives a sense of the town's layout, including some empty streets as well as attractions including the International Car Forest,

and the Historic Cemetery.