Greenwater, California
| Greenwater | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
  Greenwater  Greenwater Location in California | |
| Coordinates: 36°10′46″N 116°36′59″W / 36.17944°N 116.61639°WCoordinates: 36°10′46″N 116°36′59″W / 36.17944°N 116.61639°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Inyo County |
| Elevation[1] | 4,288 ft (1,307 m) |
Greenwater – formerly, Ramsey,[1] The Camp,[1] and Kunze [2] – was an unincorporated community near Death Valley in eastern Inyo County, California.[1] It is now a deserted ghost town.
Geography
Greenwater is located 5.5 miles (8.9 km) north of Funeral Peak in the Funeral Mountains above southeastern Death Valley,[2] at an elevation of 4288 feet (1307 m).[1] It is now located within Death Valley National Park, north of Smith Mountain, and south of the Rand, California mining district ruins.
History
Greenwater was a mining town in the Mojave Desert that saw its rise and fall within the first decade of the 20th century.[3]
The original townsite, 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the current site and called Kunze after its founder Arthur Kunze, was abandoned in favor of the current site, which was originally called Ramsey.[2] A post office operated at Greenwater from 1906 to 1908.[2]
Copper and water
Founded around a copper ore strike in 1905 the town of Greenwater was a short lived Death Valley community. So dry was its region that water had to be hauled into the town. The lucrative business of water barrel salesman fetched any entrepreneur $15 per barrel; in 1913 that equaled over $250 in 2004 dollars.[4]
Eventually the town grew to 2,000 people and became known for a local magazine, The Death Valley Chuckwalla. By 1909 the copper mining had collapsed without ever turning a profit and the residents left town for other areas. Today, there is nothing left of Greenwater.[5]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Greenwater, California
- 1 2 3 4 Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 1168. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
- ↑ http://www.nps.gov/deva/historyculture/death-valley-ghost-towns.ht . accessed 6/22/2010
- ↑ CPI calculator 1913-2004
- ↑ Death Valley Ghost Towns: National Park Service.
