Rhyolite began to decline before the final closing of the mine . At roughly the same time that the Bullfrog mines were running out of high-grade ore , the 1906 San Francisco earthquake diverted capital to California while interrupting rail service , and the financial panic of 1907 restricted funding for mine development . As mines in the district reduced production or closed , unemployed miners left Rhyolite to seek work elsewhere , businesses failed , and by 1910 , the census reported only 675 residents . All three banks in the town closed by March 1910 . The newspapers , including the '' Rhyolite Herald '' , the last to go , all shut down by June 1912 . The post office closed in November 1913 ; the last train left Rhyolite Station in July 1914 , and the Nevada-California Power Company turned off the electricity and removed its lines in 1916 . Within a year the town was " all but abandoned " , and the 1920 census reported a population of only 14 . A 1922 motor tour by the '' Los Angeles Times '' found only one remaining resident , a 92-year-old man who died in 1924
1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Rhyolite, Nevada