The Alvin Sun (Alvin, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 26, Ed. 1 Monday, April 1, 2002 Page: 14 of 24
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Brazoria County Area Newspapers and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Alvin Community College.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Page 6 • American Profile
Cover Story
K ( )NN
Welcome to
Gold Point.
Nevada
9
population
five!
B
I
I
I
Kremin. Of the 55 old miners’ shacks and period buildings remaining in “but you’re never going to have dirt.”
Gold Point, Robbins and Kremin own 28.
From coast to coast and town to town, Americans are finding a part of their
lost past in treks to places like Gold Point. Ghost towns or their remnants can
be found in every state of the union and in every state of condition. Gold Point
ghost
Why
mine
not an
of e vol
gold o
onegt
foundi
“In
a band
might
but if
valley,
don i
thoug
comm
makir
Lon
thegn
says. '
morei
lookin,
in the
and hi
towns
coins v
to fine
they a
Pat
among
Nevad
buildir
a poor
less, it
is defit
Vegas in 1998, playing slot-machine poker, for a whopping $222,636. Just two
years earlier, Robbins had struck another mother lode at a casino in Reno, accu-
mulating $481,000 on 171 jackpots over several months.
Yet he is quick to say, “Had I not won that money, I’d still be doing what I’ve
been doing here all along-.buying and fixing up when I can."
Today, his and Kremin’s holdings include a saloon and the former post
office. The two have a visitor-friendly policy that enables them to present
Gold Point to tourists in its authentic state, not spruced-up and restored to
conform with state codes.
“You’re always going to have dust in a place like this," remarks Kremin,
Go
pound
laughs
up for
daught
Sacran*
there, I
bed an
shacks
when I
"W
appoin
nificen
Calif . I
years ii
foils to
christe
But he
"TH
dedica
ring tc
The
the ton
I
I
/
1 Mmmm -MH*umi
'1 W
I
I
A halo of predawn light hovers over
Mount Dunfee in the high desert country of southwestern Nevada. Three
jackrabbits zigzag through an empty lot, and partridge-like chukars scurry
across the street seeking haven beneath sagebrush.
it is 5:30 a.m., a time when things seem not quite real to the eye, when shad-
ows can be mistaken for apparitions. But that’s what you’d expect—and maybe
even hope for—in an old ghost town.
Welcome to Gold Point, Nev.—population five.
The former mining town is under the constant watch and upkeep of
Herb Robbins and his sidekick/saloon bouncer/business partner Walt
I I
/
. '
"That would include the historic outhouses, too," quips Robbins, who pur-
chased his first piece of property in Gold Point in the late 1970s.
The town at the base of the Shale Hills has been Robbins' dream—make that
obsession—for 23 years. A wallpaper hanger by trade, Robbins, 50, qualifies as
an authentic mining historian, owning more than Brenda
600 books on the subject. It all started when his •
friend, Kremin, noticed a newspaper advertisement
in 1978 offering three Gold Point lots for sale. •5
I wanted to say I owned a piece of a ghost town," •
Robbins admits, "but the more I bought, the more I Eeu
wanted." Indeed, Robbins financed some of his E 2
recent Gold Point purchases and restoration under- Mr
takings with an uncanny modern-day parallel of an Sn
old-time miners strike: He hit the jackpot in Las ET
t, ptroli Gold duty Mmtr is a still-standing symbol of these once-thriving com-
m munities whose best days are behind them.
marrarrmeram "Ghost towns embody the determination that
E 7 EmG mannnk J druse tortune hunter, explorer, and «ttler to < rom
m the country to find riches and a better life, notes
m • m m I Carol .">111111, ker of the National Register of His
umee torn Places for the National Park Service They are
mlimFTTE at the heart of the American story."
28 mmdbmkae Stanley Paher, author of Gnada Ghost Tnuns and
2-2 Mining Camps, was first lured to the fascination of old
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View 24 places within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Schwind, Jim & Holton, Kathleen. The Alvin Sun (Alvin, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 26, Ed. 1 Monday, April 1, 2002, newspaper, April 1, 2002; Alvin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1602803/m1/14/?q=%22~1%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Alvin Community College.