Goodsprings, NV.
Goodsprings developed late in the desert sequence, shaped less by travel corridors than by what lay in the surrounding hills. Long known only for its springs and used seasonally by Indigenous peoples, the area sat just outside the main line of the Old Spanish Trail, which passed north and west through Mountain Springs Pass without reason to detour. That changed in the late nineteenth century when prospectors identified workable deposits of lead and zinc, turning water from a convenience into a necessity and anchoring people to the site. What began as a mining camp in the 1890s matured into a functioning town by the early 1910s, complete with a school, newspaper, and the Pioneer Saloon, which served as the social and civic center. World War I demand pushed Goodsprings to its peak, after which declining metal prices reduced activity without erasing the town. Unlike many Mojave camps that vanished when the ore played out, Goodsprings contracted and endured, carrying forward its buildings, its memory, and its role as a living remnant of the mining era layered onto a much older desert landscape.
Timeline
1868 – Joseph Good discovers springs; mining camp forms.1886 – Campbell Stone Cabin constructed.
1890s – Goodsprings recognized as part of Yellow Pine Mining District.
1899 – Post office established; town officially named Goodsprings.
1909 – Yellow Pine Mining Company consolidates claims.
1911 – Yellow Pine Railroad completed to Jean.
1913 – Pioneer Saloon, General Store, and Community Church built.
1915–1920 – Population peaks around 800; mining prosperity.
1920s – Production declines; residents begin to leave.
1930s – Small-scale mining continues.
1942 – Carole Lombard plane crash on Mount Potosi.
1950s – Mining ceases; town remains semi-inhabited.
1990s – Goodsprings Historical Society established.
2005 – Pioneer Saloon restoration draws visitors.
2010 – Town featured in Fallout: New Vegas.
2020s – Population under 200; historic preservation continues.
Goodsprings Weather
