Gold was discovered in the Kern Valley in 1855, drawing miners from throughout the world in what was believed to be California's second great gold rush. Towns sprang up across the area, but many were abandoned within a few years when the gold ran out. In the 1970's, the Dave Mills family saved historical structures from deteriorating mining camps and moved them to this site. Around 1973 the Mills closed the ghost town. The J. Paul Corlew family purchased the property in 1988 and began restoration and preservation work that dominated their lives for decades. The Corlews reopened Silver City in 1992. More than twenty buildings from mining camps such as Keyesville, Wiskey Flats, Claraville, and Miracle are preserved here in a state of arrested decay, and the site now operates as a nationally known museum and film location.