Desert Hills Cemetery — Beatty’s Silent Storyteller
Desert Hills Cemetery is more than just Beatty’s first and only burial ground — it is the town’s memory. Tucked into the desert just south of town, this peaceful hillside holds the lives, losses, triumphs, and quiet stories of the people who built Beatty from raw desert into a thriving desert community. Every headstone here marks a chapter of Beatty’s past, stretching back to the very beginning of the Bullfrog mining boom.
When gold was discovered in 1904 by Shorty Harris and Ed Cross, Beatty became the heart of the Bullfrog Mining District almost overnight. Prospectors, miners, shopkeepers, railroad workers, families, and dreamers poured in. Desert Hills Cemetery began receiving its first burials as Beatty grew — a reminder that even in boomtown days, life in the desert was never easy. Disease, accidents, mining hazards, and the harsh environment claimed many early residents, and their resting place became this sacred patch of Mojave soil.
Unlike ghost towns that vanished, Beatty endured — and so did Desert Hills Cemetery. The cemetery holds pioneers, business owners, railroad workers, ranchers, children, veterans, and long-time residents who stayed after the mines closed and helped Beatty become the community it is today. Some graves date back to the earliest days of the 1900s, while others reflect Beatty’s modern generations, creating a continuous line of history that spans more than a century.
Today, walking through Desert Hills Cemetery feels like stepping into a living archive. The desert wind moves through rows of markers that tell stories of hardship, resilience, family, and frontier grit. From early miners to lifelong Beatty residents, every name here belongs to someone who shaped this town — and whose story still lives on in the desert soil.
Desert Hills isn’t just where Beatty’s past rests, it’s where Beatty’s story continues to be told.