realgilmorris

The Church on the Mount — Goldfield Ghost Town

During a 2015 visit to Goldfield Ghost Town in Apache Junction, I photographed The Church on the Mount, a small desert chapel perched against the backdrop of the Superstition Mountains. It’s one of those places where the Old West feels close enough to touch—sun‑bleached wood, quiet air, and a sense of history that settles in around you.

Goldfield built this church with authentic period details, giving it the charm of a true 1800s frontier chapel. It’s a simple structure, but that simplicity is exactly what makes it so striking in the Arizona light. The moment I captured it, the whole scene felt timeless.

The church features:

• An organ from the 1880s
• A pulpit repurposed from a Hammond Theatre pipe organ
• 1931 pews built in late‑1800s style
• Wagon‑wheel chandeliers
• A rough‑hewn wooden cross
• Goldfield jokingly calls it a great place to “get hitched or ditched”

You can find this image in my Picfair Store — The Church on the Mount. It’s a little slice of Arizona history framed in warm desert tones.