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Chloride is a living ghost town in northwest Arizona. It’s considered the oldest continuously inhabited mining town in the entire state.
History
The town was founded in 1863 and named after the silver chloride mines found in the area. It once boasted a population of about 5,000 and over 75 working mines. By 1917, the population dipped to 2,000, and by the 1944 it was nearly a ghost town. There are currently around 350 people living there.
Mineshaft Market
We passed through Chloride on our way from Las Vegas to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Our first stop was the Mineshaft Market and Arizona Visitor Center where we picked up a map of town.
Cyanide Springs
We then went to the center of town to Cyanide Springs, a replica Wild West town. There was a gunfight reenactment taking place, so we sat down with the rest of the crowd to enjoy the performance by the locals.
After the gunfight, we had a chance to walk around Cyanide Springs. Among the buildings represented are a jail, sheriff’s office, bank, saloon, and a doctor’s office right next to the undertaker.
There’s also the Chloride Historical Society’s Jim Fritz Museum, which we didn’t visit.
Around Town
Just south of Cyanide Springs is the town hall and Chloride Baptist Church. There were once six churches in town, but the Baptist church is the only one that remains. It was built as a Presbyterian church sometime after 1916 and has been a Baptist church since 1947.
North of Cyanide Springs is the US Post Office. If you look closely it has a pool rack above the door, indicating that the building used to be a pool hall. The post office opened in 1873, closed for a short time, and reopened in 1893. A couple of antique stores sit next to it.
A block west of the post office is the old gas station. A block north you can find the historic train depot. The old jail is also nearby. The rest of the town is full of fun kitschy places, some antique shops, and a few restaurants.
Coming into town there’s a cemetery that we didn’t visit. Outside of town there’s a mural that we also didn’t visit as well as several abandoned mines. Please be aware it’s never safe to enter one of the mines.
The Prospector (formerly Digger Dave’s)
We had lunch at Digger Dave’s, which is now the Prospector. I had a great burger and the staff was fun and friendly.
