The U.S. Bureau of Land Management conducted two walking tours of Rhyolite Ghost Town on Oct. 14, one at 10 a.m., and the other at 1 p.m.
The tours were guided by BLM archeologists who gave the history of various structures on the walking route from the Tom Kelly Bottle House to the Las Vegas and Tonopah railroad station, then back by way of the road that passes the jail.
A highlight of the tour was the rare opportunity to go inside the railroad station, which has been closed to the public for years. BLM staff spent days cleaning out the front room of the station in preparation for the event.
The station is greatly in need of repair, and Coward says they are doing what they can with their limited budget. They have also financed research into methods of stabilizing some of the ruins, like those of the Cook Bank Building, while having as little visual impact as possible.
The BLM’s most extensive projects in Rhyolite to date have been the refurbishing of the Bottle House, the erection of public restroom facilities, and the construction of shade shelters and a water utility for the caretaker campsite.
Tonopah Field Office Manager Tim Coward expressed gratitude for the work Barrick Gold did in re-roofing the building while they were operating their Bullfrog mine back in the 90’s. “If the roof hadn’t been put on, there’d be a lot more damage,” he said.
Coward said that they hope to make the walking tours available twice annually.
The current caretaker of Rhyolite, Karl Olsen, who refers to himself as “the mayor of Rhyolite,” was unable to attend the event because he was in charge of the Beatty VFW Poker Run, which was being held the same day. Rhyolite, however, was one of the stops on the poker run.
Richard Stephens is a freelance write living in Beatty.