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The most complete guide to Southern Nevada's mining history.
April 23, 2017
Vanderbilt, California
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Because a few of our regulars weren't able to attend for various reasons, this wasn't our largest event, but large isn't our goal for these events. Our goal is to meet up with good people and just have fun. With those goals in mind, I think this was yet another successful event. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well and I wasn't as social as I am usually. I felt bad for just stopping at each destination and letting people wander on their own. So, I apologize if I didn't join in as much as I would have liked.
First stop on the trail was at the old Ivanpah Cabin. The Ivanpah Mining District stretches all the way to the NV border and this is where it all began. At old Ivanpah. This is also where we met up with some new friends who drove several hours to meet us for this event. Hopefully, we'll be seeing you again soon. I missed something in this cabin the first time we were there and only noticed it while reviewing pictures later. In the second row in the gallery below, you'll see some painted characters above doors and windows. I was stumped until someone mentioned they were likely cattle brands. Once again, I was giving way too much thought to something simple.
The mines in and around Vanderbilt are now part of the Mojave National Preserve and have been made safe. As soon as an announcement was made that we'll be visiting Vanderbilt, people started sending emails that I got the mill name wrong and the location is called "Goldome". Turns out, they are correct in that some people do refer to the exact same location as "Goldome". As always, I'm not making this stuff up as I go. I don't go to a site and say, "That looks like it should be called Vanderbilt.". I can only go by the official records of the major mining recording offices; USGS, BLM, and MSHA which all have this area registered as "Vanderbilt" and the largest of the structures "Vanderbilt Mill".
https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10213328
I researched a little and found that there are a few websites out there that refer to it as "Goldome" or the variable "Gold Dome". Other than spray painted signs on site, I haven't found any official record for "Gold Dome". It seems one site called it "Gold Dome" and the others just ran with it. That's happened with this site a few times. I write something and find what I wrote word for word on other sites. Seriously guys, research and write your own shit. Google works at your house too.
Vanderbilt is a well-known location and has been for a while. It was established in the late 1800's as Vanderbilt. Renaming it is something fairly recent. The first time I've found it referred to as "Goldome" was when the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) entered it into the official Administrative Record as "Goldome" in September of 2008 when it was submitted as a SuperFund site. I find it difficult to believe the EPA renamed a site based on a graffiti reference. They are usually all about truth and accuracy.