- Location: Inyo Mountains, CA (36.53771, -117.79507)
- Travel Date: 4-29-2018
- Written: 9-27-2020
Cerro Gordo, can be called one of my favorites places to visit. This once booming town is rich with history and artifacts. The caretaker is a world class gentleman with a passion for the ghost town.
Located in the Inyo Mountains, near Lone Pine, California, Cerro Gordo is easily accessible with most passenger vehicles but I would recommend a high clearance vehicle.
From highway 136 near Keeler, you’ll head up Cerro Gordo Road for 7.5 miles. In the short 7.5 miles, you’ll gain approximately 4,500 feet of elevation. The road is graded and flat but after rain storms you can expect the road to become bumpy. Make sure you have good brakes for the trip back down. DO NOT ATTEMPT driving up during or after a snow storm.
Discovery of the silver ore is credited to Pablo Flores, who began mining and smelting operations near the summit of Buena Vista Peak in 1865. Due to hostile Indian activity early mining efforts were rather limited. When hostile Indian activity subsided following the establishment of Fort Independence, mining efforts increased.
These early miners employed relatively primitive techniques of open pits and trenches, and used adobe ovens to smelt the ore. Businessman Victor Beaudry of nearby Independence, California, became impressed by the quality of silver being taken out of Cerro Gordo and opened a store near the mine. He soon acquired several mining claims to settle unpaid debts and proceeded to have two modern smelters built. Beaudry continued acquiring mining rights from debtors until he soon owned a majority of the richest and most productive mines in the area, including partial interest in the Union Mine.
In 1868 Mortimer Belshaw arrived in Cerro Gordo (Rich Hill), attracted by the rich deposits of galena ore. After establishing a partnership with another stakeholder in the Union Mine, he brought the first wagon load of silver from Cerro Gordo to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles he was able to secure financing to build his own smelter that was superior to all other smelters at Cerro Gordo, as well as to build the first wagon road up the mountain. This road became known as the Yellow Road from the color of the rock that it had been cut through. By operating the Yellow Road as a toll road, Belshaw was able to earn income and control the shipments of silver from the mountain.
Cerro Gordo is privately owned and currently a ghost town and tourist attraction. It still has several buildings, including the general store. Permission to visit must be obtained. The town was advertised for sale in June 2018 and sold the following month to Los Angeles entrepreneurs, who planned to keep it open for tourism with historical preservation. The buyers, Brent Underwood and business partner Jon Bier, purchased the property with additional investment from a collection of Los Angeles-based creatives.
Update – June 16th, 2020
The historic American Hotel, built in 1871, the Crapo House and the Ice House at Cerrro Gordo burned down in what is thought to have been an electrical fire in an early morning fire on Monday, June 15, 2020. No injuries were reported, and the rest of the town is intact.
According to The Friends of Cerro Gordo Facebook website, the propane tanks of the hotel caught fire and exploded after the hotel itself started burning. The cause is under investigation but is suspected that the old electrical wiring was the cause.
Everyone was asleep in the resident buildings when the fire broke out, and fortunately the wind was in their favor and those buildings along with the museum, the bunkhouse, the chapel, the Belshaw, the Gordon, Chinaman’s, and Hunter House are all untouched.