Randsburg: The Mojave’s Living Ghost Town and the Yellow Aster Mine

THE GOLD DISCOVERY\n\nCalifornia’s Office of Historic Preservation records that the Yellow Aster—or Rand—mine was discovered in April 1895 by Singleton, Burcham and Mooers. Randsburg developed rapidly below the mine, followed by Johannesburg in 1896. Later tungsten at Atolia and silver at Red Mountain expanded the wider Rand Mining District.\n\nBOOM AND DECLINE\n\nThe Yellow Aster became the district’s defining gold operation. Randsburg’s population rose into the thousands during the boom. Mining continued intermittently long after the first rush, which is why the town never experienced the clean abandonment seen at places like Bodie.\n\nA LIVING GHOST TOWN\n\nToday Randsburg is better described as a living ghost town than a deserted one. Historic commercial buildings remain on Butte Avenue, and the Rand Desert Museum preserves mining equipment and records. Nearby mine areas and dumps make the landscape feel abandoned even though residents still live in town.\n\nTHE HAZARDOUS LEGACY\n\nThe Bureau of Land Management identifies the Rand Historic Mining Complex as an abandoned-mine cleanup area that includes the Yellow Aster section at Randsburg, along with areas at Red Mountain and Johannesburg. Historic mining landscapes can contain open shafts, contaminated material and unstable workings.\n\nODDKNOWN ASSESSMENT\n\nRandsburg’s appeal comes from continuity: it is not a movie set and not fully dead. The remains of the mining economy coexist with a small present-day community.