On the outskirts of a nearly forgotten town, where the desert stretches endlessly under an unforgiving sun, lies the Goldfield Cemetery. One of the most interesting things about the town of Goldfield itself is that the dead now far outnumber the living. There are approximately 1,200 people buried in the city cemetery. According to the 2010 census, only 248 people currently reside in Goldfield.
A Cemetery on the Move: Why Goldfield Relocated Its Dead
Goldfield’s original cemetery wasn’t just inconveniently located, it was in the way. Originally situated near the railroad tracks, it quickly became an issue once Goldfield started booming. Visitors stepped off the train and immediately faced rows of graves, hardly the warm welcome city officials had in mind. But aesthetics weren’t the only reason for the move.
In March 1908, the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad agreed to remove all the bodies from the old cemetery and relocate them to a new plot further west. Why? Because they needed the land for side tracks and switches. That’s right, progress rolled in. The dead had to make way for the living. Workers exhumed about 70 bodies and reburied them in the current Goldfield Cemetery, leaving the original burial ground to be paved over by industry.
A Harsh Resting Place: The Graves of Goldfield
Many of the graves belong to miners, drifters, and pioneers. These people sought their fortune in Goldfield’s gold rush, only to find hardship, disease, or violent ends. The markers range from elaborate headstones to crude slabs of rock. Some are etched with names, others bearing only the word Unknown. Over the years, volunteers have worked to keep the inscriptions legible. Often, they painted the letters red to preserve what little history remains.
A Death by Library Paste: Goldfield’s Strangest Grave
When I learned that I would be visiting Goldfield, I was excited to learn that one of my favorite headstones was located in the Goldfield Cemetery. I know, I know, it doesn’t take much for a girl like me to get excited. But this isn’t just any old headstone……
It is the Unknown Man who died from eating library paste on July 14th, 1908.
People know little about this poor soul. Times were often tough in Goldfield, money was hard to come by and many people were hungry. I’m also guessing he was probably older, and not in the best of health to begin with. Apparently, he took a jar of library paste and decided it would be better than eating nothing at all. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize that library paste contained alum and clove oil. Both substances, in high enough quantities, are toxic. Or perhaps the paste didn’t kill him, and he was just unlucky enough to die with a jar of it nearby. People forever remember him as the Unknown Man who died from eating library paste.
Final Resting Place — or Is It?
History lingers in Goldfield Cemetery, where the dry Nevada landscape holds forgotten names and tragic stories. Boomtowns rise and fall, but the dead don’t leave, they just move when necessary.
The Unknown Man who died from eating library paste may not have shared his name, but he left behind a story. A story that people still tell more than a century later. And in the end, don’t we all hope for the same? To be remembered, even if it’s for something a little… unusual?
So if you ever find yourself in Goldfield, take a walk through its cemetery. Read the names — or the spaces where names should be. Stop by the Unknown Man’s grave. And if you listen closely, you might just hear the whispers of those who came seeking fortune but stayed forever.
