Palmetto

Usually, ghost town ruins right on a major modern highway are either hardly recognizable, or else are all “touristy.” The ruins at Palmetto, however, are perfectly obvious from the highway and have no fences, admission fees, or souvenir shops. And they don’t require miles of rough 4wd road to reach.

Silver was first struck here in 1866, and in a typical burst of overoptimism a 12-stamp mill was built. There was not enough ore to keep the mill busy, however, and Palmetto was soon abandoned. (The camp’s name comes from the miners’ misconception that local Joshua trees were related to palms.)

A brief revival in the 1880s also fizzled, even though the camp got a post office in 1888 that lasted until 1894.

Palmetto’s biggest revival was in the early 20th century. A new townsite was set up about half a mile west of the 19th century camp, and by 1906, the new camp sported a main street a mile long. Again, though, it didn’t last; the reopened Post Office closed on the last day of 1907.

Ironically, much more remains of the late 19th century camp, as no permanent structures were built in the early 20th century revival, that settlement consisting just of tents. Mining exploration continues in the area to this day, but nothing at the scale of a century-plus ago.