Rail Road Flat, a historic mining town at an elevation of 2,600 feet, was founded in 1849 and named after primitive, mule-drawn ore cars used there. It became a center of rich placer and quartz mining, and its largest producer was the Petticoat Mine. In 1880, black fever decimated the town's population. Among its present-day attractions are the post office established in 1857, the Edwin Taylor store built in 1867, and the site of an Indian Council House.