Bell Family Scrapbook scanning, Set 4, proofed 11.04.2010 A snow-covered house in Searchlight, Nevada, 1979

In most central Nevada mining camps, building materials were scarce during early development. Empty bottles, cans and stones were used to fabricate dwellings. In Goldfield, dugout homes were built into the walls of the two largest washes that crossed the townsite. The dugouts were cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The major disadvantage was size. Most were limited to one room. As building materials became available, conventional housing soon replaced the dugouts. The majority of Goldfield's dugouts were destroyed in the flood of 1923, although a few can still be found in the smaller washes on the west edge of town.

The exterior of the Bottle House.