Leadfield, California, Inyo County is an enchanting ghost town nestled in the heart of the Mojave Desert. Once a bustling mining community, it now stands as a tribute to the fleeting nature of boomtowns. Below is detailed information about the town.
County: Inyo County
Zip Code: Not available
Latitude / Longitude: 36.4828° N, 117.1056° W
Elevation: Approximately 4,290 feet (1,308 meters)
Time Zone: Pacific Time Zone (PT)
Established: 1926
Disestablished: 1927
Comments: Leadfield’s history is rooted in the mining boom of the early 20th century. It was promoted by C.C. Julian, who created a remarkable advertising campaign that attracted many investors and miners. However, the town’s prosperity was short-lived due to the lack of substantial ore deposits and allegations of fraud.
Leadfield was an unincorporated community, and historic mining town in Inyo County, California Ghost Townlifornia. It is now a ghost town. It is located in Titus Canyon in the Grapevine Mountains, east of Death Valley in Death Valley National Park. Leadfield lies at an elevation of 4,058 ft (1,237 m). It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Remains: Today, visitors can find remnants of Leadfield’s past, including crumbling wooden structures and rusted mining equipment scattered across the desert landscape. These relics offer a glimpse into the town’s brief but fascinating history.
Ore was being exploited in Titus Canyon as early as 1905, but the townsite of Leadfield at the head of the canyon dates to the years 1925 and 1926. The product of extensive and fraudulent advertising by the Western Lead Mine Company and C.C. Julian, the town boomed in 1925.
His advertising posters showed steamboats navigating the Amargosa River to Leadfield, ignoring that the Amargosa River is dry much of the time and does not run within 20 miles of Leadfield.
Current Status: Leadfield is a ghost town with no permanent residents. It is part of the Death Valley National Park, making it accessible to tourists interested in exploring California’s mining heritage. The remains of the town include a few rusted metal sheds and two locked, abandoned mine shafts, as of 2005. The town is reachable by one-way Titus Canyon Road at the eastern end of Titus Canyon, near Beatty, Nevada.
Remarks: Leadfield reminds us of the speculative nature of mining towns in the early 20th century. Its rapid rise and fall illustrate the risks and challenges those seeking fortune face in the unforgiving desert environment. The town’s remnants provide a unique opportunity for exploration and reflection on the transient nature of human endeavors.
Fifteen miles of road were built up the canyon to connect with the road to Beatty, Nevada, a concrete foundation for a stamp mill was poured, and the beginning of a series of power poles for electric lines was installed. Historic photographs show some frame and corrugated metal buildings and there is evidence of a few dugouts, but the majority of the denizens of Leadfield lived in tents of varying sizes and construction.
The population peaked at around 300 in 1926, with a post office opening in August. However, by February 1927, the post office closed down and the town died. Julian disappeared and the inhabitants soon became disillusioned and quickly drifted away. The site’s significance lies in the fact it was an example of one of the get-rich-quick schemes of the wild 1920s.
