Bonnie Claire / Thorp, NV

Bonnie Claire / Thorp sits near the border of Death Valley along highway 267, and roughly 6 miles from Highway 95. It’s extremely easy to locate as the few remains of the town are situated close to the highway, and the mill is located on the opposite side of the highway.

Mining began in the area around 1880 about 4 miles from what would become the town site of Thorp and later Bonnie Claire. The earliest name for the mining area was Thorp’s Well, which is what the original name of the town is derived from. In the early 1900′s the Bonnie Clare and Bullfrog Mining Company purchased  the mill at Thorp’s Well, and soon afterwards began construction of a new mill near the Thorp Stage Station. This new mill would be called the Bonnie Claire Mill.

The town of Thorp was established around 1904, with the first post office opening in 1905. The town would be renamed Bonnie Claire in 1906 after the arrival of the Bullfrog and Goldfield Railroad. In 1907 the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad would reach the town.

1907 saw the peak of the town’s population at about 100 people. The town site now had a two-story hotel, a number of saloons and stores, and houses had begun to be built to replace the tent city. Despite the small boom that had taken place due to the trains reaching the town it wasn’t long before the town began to diminish.

Smelter pot and various other pieces of the mill.

Bonnie Claire would see another busy period in the 1920′s, when Chicago Millionaire Albert Johnson and Walter Scott (Death Valley Scotty) began construction on what would become known as Scotty’s Castle. Most of the supplies for the construction of the castle came through Bonnie Claire via the railroad, and was then trucked out 20 desolate miles to the construction site. When the Great Depression hit construction on the mansion would decrease, which would cause once again an exodus from Bonnie Claire.

Eventually the railroad tracks leading through Bonnie Claire would be pulled up, and train stopped rolling through this once bustling little town. In 1931 the town would lose it post office as the town’s population had moved on.

Building ruins at the mill.

Today the town site consists of a couple of lonely buildings that have been littered with modern people’s garbage, and a couple of modern era junk cars. A small mining shaft is located directly beside one of the buildings, it’s unclear if this shaft was used in the early days of Bonnie Claire, or if it’s from a more recent time.

Across the highway the Bonnie Claire mill still stands proudly against the mountain as well as a number of adobe buildings. The old mill’s smelting pots rest on the ground beside the mill giving testimony to the mill’s once busy history.

During my visit to Bonnie Claire there where no signs posted about Private Property or No Trespassing, however I’ve now read in a couple of places while doing my research on this site that the property has in recent years been marked with these signs. Please take this in consideration when visiting this location, and if the signs reappear please be respectful of the owner’s wishes.