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Bullfrog, Nevada facts for kids

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Bullfrog, Nevada
Ruins of the Bullfrog Jail
Ruins of the Bullfrog Jail
Bullfrog, Nevada is located in Nevada
Bullfrog, Nevada
Bullfrog, Nevada
Location in Nevada
Country United States
State Nevada
County Nye
Elevation
3,560 ft (1,090 m)
Time zone UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)

Bullfrog is a "ghost town" in Nye County, Nevada. A ghost town is a place where people used to live and work, but now it's mostly empty.

Bullfrog is located in the northern part of the Amargosa Desert. It's about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Beatty. Just north of Bullfrog are the Bullfrog Hills and another ghost town called Rhyolite.

These two ghost towns are about 120 miles (190 km) northwest of Las Vegas. They are also about 60 miles (97 km) south of Goldfield. To the west, you can see the Funeral and Grapevine Mountains. These mountains separate the Amargosa Desert from Death Valley in California.

Today, Bullfrog is close to the Goldwell Open Air Museum. This museum has outdoor sculptures and an art center. You can find the old Bullfrog jail and other historic spots along a road that leads to Rhyolite.

History of Bullfrog

Los Angeles-Bullfrog Realty & Investment Co. 1905 advertisement
An advertisement from 1905 for Bullfrog Realty

Bullfrog became a town because of gold. Two prospectors, Frank "Shorty" Harris and Eddie Cross, found gold here. They made their discovery on August 9, 1904.

The name "Bullfrog" has a couple of possible stories. One idea is that Eddie Cross liked to sing a song about a bullfrog. Another story says the gold ore they found was green and shaped a bit like a frog.

The mine was probably called "Original Bullfrog" to tell it apart from the new town. By the winter of 1904, about a thousand people lived in Bullfrog. They lived in tents and small shelters.

The town grew quickly, and people wanted a railroad. The Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad reached nearby Rhyolite on May 22, 1907. This helped connect the mining towns.

Bullfrog Special Map 1906
A map of Rhyolite and the Bullfrog area from 1906
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