Leadfield, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Leadfield
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Leadfield Building 1
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 Leadfield
Location in California
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Inyo County |
| Elevation | 4,058 ft (1,237 m) |
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Leadfield
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| Location | Death Valley National Park on Titus Canyon Road, Death Valley, California |
| Built | 1925 |
| NRHP reference No. | 75000221 |
| Added to NRHP | June 10, 1975 |
Leadfield was once a small mining town in Inyo County, California. Today, it is a ghost town, which means no one lives there anymore. It is found in Titus Canyon within the Grapevine Mountains. This area is just east of Death Valley inside Death Valley National Park. Leadfield sits high up, at about 4,058 feet (1,237 meters) above sea level. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A Short History of Leadfield
People started mining for ore in Titus Canyon as early as 1905. But the actual town of Leadfield began much later, around 1925 and 1926. The town quickly grew because of a lot of misleading advertisements. These ads were created by the Western Lead Mine Company and a man named C.C. Julian.
Julian's posters showed steamboats sailing right to Leadfield on the Amargosa River. This was not true at all! The Amargosa River is often dry and does not even come close to Leadfield.
Despite the false ads, people built about 15 miles of road. This road connected the town to Beatty, Nevada. They also poured a concrete foundation for a machine called a stamp mill. This mill would have crushed the ore. Workers even started putting up power poles for electric lines.
Most people living in Leadfield stayed in tents. Some had simple wooden or metal buildings. The town's population reached about 300 people in 1926. A post office even opened there in August of that year. However, things changed very quickly. By February 1927, the post office closed. The town soon became empty.
C.C. Julian disappeared, and the people who had moved there left. Leadfield is a good example of the "get-rich-quick schemes" that were common in the 1920s.
Visiting Leadfield Today
If you visit Leadfield now, you will see only a few things left. There are some rusted metal sheds. You might also find two mine shafts that are locked and abandoned. These are what remained in 2005.
You can reach the town by driving on the Titus Canyon Road. This road is one-way and starts near Beatty, Nevada.
