Gold Butte
Daniel Bonelli found mica here in 1873 and made trial shipments in 1893 and 1894, but it wasn't until the discovery of gold in 1905 that mining truly began in this remote area. Though a post office opened in 1906, it wasn't until 1908 that the Gold Butte Mercantile, Townsite & Mining Co. formally laid out a townsite. Before long, Gold Butte had a hotel, livery stable, store, and brothel, and a sanitarium was even proposed. Ore was shipped by wagon to St. Thomas, and the population peaked at around 2000. Many of the mines began to play out by the end of 1910, however, and Gold Butte faded.
Some years after Gold Butte had disappeared, the unlikely duo of Bill Garrett and Art Coleman settled at the former townsite. Garrett was a cattleman who had previously worked at wild west shows and Coleman was a lanky prospector. The two lived in a wooden house here for over four decades, and provided home cooked meals for travelers along the Gold Butte Trail. Coleman died in 1958 at the age of 82, followed by Garrett in 1961 at the age of 81; both are buried near the site of their old home.
