Red Mountain: The Silver-Boom Ghost Town of the Rand District

THE SILVER RUSH\n\nRed Mountain emerged after a major silver discovery in 1919 in the wider Rand Mining District. The settlement was first known as Osdick and grew around the California Rand Silver Mine and other workings. Its post office opened under the Osdick name in 1922 and later changed to Red Mountain.\n\nA TOWN BUILT AROUND MINING\n\nLike nearby Randsburg and Johannesburg, Red Mountain existed because ore supported it. Mining camps, homes, stores and service buildings followed the boom. As production declined, many structures were abandoned while a small resident population remained.\n\nTHE LEGACY UNDERFOOT\n\nThe Bureau of Land Management identifies the Kelly Silver Mine area at Red Mountain as part of the Rand Historic Mining Complex cleanup program. Historic mining left contaminated material, including arsenic concerns, making the ruins more than a scenic ghost-town backdrop.\n\nGHOST TOWN—BUT NOT EMPTY\n\nRed Mountain still has residents and a post office, so it is best described as a living ghost town rather than a fully abandoned settlement. The abandoned school and mining remnants preserve the strongest visual connection to the boom years.\n\nSAFETY\n\nOld workings and contaminated mine material should not be disturbed. Visitors should remain on legal roads and public areas.