California
Though mining ghost towns are generally built near a mineral strike,
Leadfield was built mainly due to a scam concocted by the Western Lead
Mine Company and one C.C. Julian.
Leadfield is therefore a better exemplar of the get-rich schemes of
the gold-crazed Roaring Twenties than of a dried-up mining town.
Leadfield boomed in 1925, peaked at around 300 residents in 1926, then
faded out in 1927 due to the lack of mining success and the
disappearance of Mr. Julian.
It should be noted that successful mining had occurred in Titus
Canyon as early as 1905, so the full story is more than a simple scam.
