Shafter, Nevada

Shafter is a ghost town in Elko County, Nevada, United States.

Shafter, Nevada
Ghost Town
Shafter Location within the state of Nevada Show map of Nevada Shafter Shafter (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°51′17″N 114°26′41″W
Country	United States
State	Nevada
County	Elko
Elevation	5,594 ft (1,705 m)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
GNIS feature ID	847479[1]

History

Shafter was founded in 1906 as a siding for the Nevada Northern Railway. Before being called Shafter, it was known as Bews. It was renamed Shafter in 1907, when the Western Pacific Railroad's Feather River Route arrived. The community was named after William Rufus Shafter, a prominent U.S. officer during the Spanish–American War.^[2] Around 40 inhabitants lived there. The town had a school, which closed in 1932, and a post office, which shut in 1959, signalling the death of the town. Today, only foundations of buildings remain.^[3]

The population was 46 in 1940.^[4]

Although the town is abandoned, this particular section of the railroad is still called the Shafter Subdivision.