Castle Dome City — Castle Dome Mines Museum, Arizona
Castle Dome Mines Museum, Castle Dome Mountains, Yuma County, Arizona
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress (public domain), as published on Street Art Utopia.
Castle Dome City is an old mining camp in the Castle Dome Mountains north of Yuma, Arizona, settled in the 1860s. It is not an untouched ghost town: since the 1990s the site has belonged to Allen and Stephanie Armstrong, who kept the few original buildings still standing, moved in vintage buildings from other mines and reconstructed others from salvaged material to create the Castle Dome Mines Museum. Source Source Source Source Checked
Seen July 2025: an Islands travel article published on 3 July 2025 says visitors can tour the town from October to April, with a $20 self-guided ticket and $75 guided tours that include the Hull Mine. Source Reported
💡 5 things to know
- Lead, not silverProspectors came for silver, but much of the supposed silver turned out to be galena: the area was far richer in lead ore. Demand for lead in both world wars revived the mines. Source Source Source Checked
- Original, moved and rebuiltThe Armstrongs began with a handful of original structures still standing, hauled in more buildings from outlying mines and recreated others on site from salvaged materials. Wikipedia says seven of the buildings are original to the town. Source Source Source Checked
- Bought in 1993 or 1994Allen and Stephanie Armstrong bought the town site in the 1990s. An E Clampus Vitus marker and RV Travel say 1993; Wikipedia, the Library of Congress and Islands say 1994. Source Source Source Source Source Conflicting
- Mining until the late 1970sMining went on and off from the 1860s. The museum and RV Travel say it stopped for good in 1979; Wikipedia says the mines were all shut down by 1978. Source Source Source Conflicting
- A glowing mine tourAccording to the Library of Congress, the Armstrongs bought the Hull Mine in 2014. Guided Hull Mine tours show fluorescent minerals under black light. Source Source Source Checked
📍 Where it is
The museum lies in the Castle Dome Mountains of Yuma County, in the middle of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, about 10 miles off US 95 at mile marker 55 between Quartzsite and Yuma; the museum says the last 7 miles are gravel. Source Source Checked
Coordinates for the original Castle Dome town and mining camp, now the museum site, from Wikipedia. The old river port of Castle Dome Landing is a different spot and now lies under the Imperial Dam reservoir.
🗓️ Sightings
- 1863
Settled as a transport depot and mining camp (around 1863) · Wikipedia
- 1979
On-and-off mining comes to an end · Castle Dome Museum
- 1993
The Armstrongs buy the property (other sources: 1994) · E Clampus Vitus marker
- 2018
Carol M. Highsmith photographs the ghost town · camera date
- 20215 Mar
Nonprofit museum, around since 1998 · KYMA
- 202312 Jan
Visit report on the restored and recreated town · RV Travel
- 20253 Jul
Open to visitors October to April · Islands
Amber stamps mark records or reports; green stamps are dated photos. Publication dates are not camera dates.
🗞️ In the sources
Castle Dome City ghost town
“The site, to which the Armstrongs moved several additional vintage buildings and reconstructed others, is now the centerpiece of the Castle Dome Mining Museum and Ghost Town”
Ghost Town Trails: Castle Dome City, Arizona—perfect for nearby snowbirds
“Additional buildings were hauled in from outlying mines, while others were recreated onsite using salvaged materials.”
Welcome to the Castle Dome City Ghost Town
“Castle Dome City consists of 60 plus buildings salvaged from the desert by Stephanie and Allan Armstrong.”
✅ The facts
- Place
- Castle Dome City, now the Castle Dome Mines Museum, Yuma County, Arizona Source Source Source Checked
- Mining ended
- 1979 (museum, RV Travel) vs 1978 (Wikipedia) Source Source Source Conflicting
- Bought
- 1993 (marker, RV Travel) vs 1994 (Wikipedia, Library of Congress, Islands) Source Source Source Source Source Conflicting
- Owners
- Allen and Stephanie Armstrong, who live on site; run as a nonprofit museum Source Source Source Checked
- Buildings
- Over 50 (Wikipedia, Roadside America) vs 60-plus (museum, Islands) Source Source Source Source Conflicting
🔗 Related
All sources & image credits
- Castle Dome Museum — Welcome to the Castle Dome City Ghost Town (undated)
- Castle Dome Museum — Volunteer Fact Sheet (undated)
- Wikipedia — Castle Dome Landing, Arizona
- Library of Congress — Scene at the Castle Dome City ghost town (Carol M. Highsmith, 2018)
- Library of Congress — In 1994, Allen Armstrong and his wife, Stephanie, bought and began restoring the Castle Dome City ghost town (Carol M. Highsmith, 2018)
- HMdb — Castle Dome Mining District marker (E Clampus Vitus, 2009)
- KYMA — A hidden gem in the Desert Southwest: Yuma’s Castle Dome Mining Museum — 5 Mar 2021
- RV Travel — Ghost Town Trails: Castle Dome City, Arizona — 12 Jan 2023
- Islands — Arizona’s Abandoned Mountain Ghost Town Was The State’s Once-Thriving Longest Working Mining District — 3 Jul 2025
- Roadside America — Castle Dome Mines Museum (undated listing)
- Hero image: Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress (public domain), as published on Street Art Utopia.
Last checked: 8 November 2026 · How we verify art