We visited Vulture Mine Ghost Town in the spring of 2010 and captured this photograph.
Vulture Mine Ghost Town School and playground is a reminder of times past.
The Vulture Mine began in 1863 when Henry Wickenburg, a prospector from California’s gold rush, discovered a quartz outcropping containing gold. To support the men and their families, the small mining town of Vulture City developed. The town once had a population of several thousand citizens with such amenities as a brothel, mess hall, post office, and school.
In 1942 during World War II, several gold mines were completely shut down. One of the reasons gold mines were shut down was the fact the mines were regarded as ‘non-essential’ as they did not produce minerals that were of use to war.
As a result, the government focused on producing copper, iron, and other metals to boost equipment production for the war. These were “essential metals,” important for the production of ships, tanks, airplanes, and bullets. Since Vulture Mine was not in this category, it was closed, and the town was abandoned. Keith Peters
