Rawhide, Nevada Facts for Kids

Rawhide, around 1915

Rawhide, Nevada was once a busy town in Mineral County, Nevada. It was located about 55 miles (88.5 km) southeast of Fallon. Today, there's almost nothing left of Rawhide because of recent mining work.

The Story of Rawhide
Where Rawhide Was Located
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The Story of Rawhide

In December 1906, a prospector named Jim Swanson found a lot of gold and silver in the hills near where Rawhide would later stand. Soon after, Charles ("Charley") B. Holman and Charles ("Scotty") A. McLeod also found big deposits of valuable metals on a place called Hooligan Hill. McLeod had been told to stop looking for gold near another camp called Buckskin. Because he was upset about this, he suggested naming the new camp "Rawhide." It was a bit of a joke, playing on the name "Buckskin."

News of the gold and silver spread quickly. Holman and McLeod sold their claims to investors and moved on. Later in 1907, they found even more gold in a place called Stingaree Gulch. They sold these new claims for even more money, then left the area to search for gold elsewhere.

Rawhide's Big Boom

The excitement over these gold finds made Rawhide grow very fast. People started selling shares in mining companies at a crazy speed. The town quickly grew to about 5,000 people. It had three banks, four churches, a school, twelve hotels, twenty-eight restaurants, a theater, and thirty-seven saloons!

While the mines did produce some gold and silver, the town's growth was much bigger than what the mines could actually support. Some people, like George Graham Rice, were "stock swindlers." This means they were clever con artists who tricked people into investing in their companies. They made it seem like Rawhide would become as rich as famous places like Virginia City. They promised huge fortunes for smart investors.

Others, like businessman George "Tex" Rickard, came to Rawhide to start honest businesses. They wanted to make money from the boom while it lasted. But Rawhide's busiest time didn't last long. The huge promises and over-promotion by people trying to make money quickly actually hurt the town's chances of real success.

The Town's Decline

In just two years, Rawhide's population dropped sharply. It went from a peak of 7,000 people in early 1908 to fewer than 500 by late 1910. A terrible fire swept through Rawhide in September 1908, causing a lot of damage. Then, a flood hit in September 1909. Many people couldn't rebuild or recover after these disasters.

As the original mines ran out of gold and silver, people started to leave. They moved on to find the next "big thing." A few people stayed behind, working in the mines or processing the ore. But for the most part, the town became an empty shell of what it once was.

By 1941, only a few tough people were left in Rawhide. The post office officially closed. Over time, more and more of the remaining residents left. By the 1960s, Mrs. Anne Rechel was thought to be the only true resident of Rawhide. She lived there until the late 1960s, when she had to leave. After that, Rawhide truly became a ghost town.

What's Left Today

Between 1967 and the early 1980s, visitors could still see some buildings standing in Rawhide. This included Mrs. Rechel's house and an old lumber store.

The stone jail house from Rawhide was moved to Hawthorne for safekeeping. It is still there today. A small cemetery was also visible near Stingaree Gulch, about a mile (1.6 km) north of the town site.

However, new mining methods and higher gold prices brought interest back to the Rawhide area in the late 1980s. A large mining company started a huge open pit mine called The Denton-Rawhide Mine. This mine completely covered the original site of Rawhide. The mining stopped around 2002-2003. The big pit is now allowed to be used as a landfill, but it's not in use yet (as of March 2008). If you visit the area today, you won't find anything left of what was once Rawhide.

Where Rawhide Was Located

Rawhide was about 55 miles southeast of Fallon, NV and about 35 miles (56.3 km) northeast of Hawthorne, NV. As mentioned, the Rawhide-Denton Mine has removed all signs of the town. There is nothing of Rawhide left to see.

Rawhide was located at 39°01′00″N 118°23′28″W / 39.01667°N 118.39111°W / 39.01667; -118.39111. It was at an elevation of 5,082 feet (1,549 m) above sea level.