Abandoned Towns

Ghost town record · Contra Costa County, California

Nortonville

Unincorporated community in California, United States.

Record

About Nortonville

Nortonville was an unincorporated town in eastern Contra Costa County, California, United States that is now considered a ghost town. It was one of five towns established within the Mount Diablo Coalfield, along with Somersville, Stewartville, Judsonville, and West Hartley.

This is a site record: what public sources say about Nortonville, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.

Map

Where Nortonville is

USGS topographic map around Nortonville
USGS topographic map, The National Map (public domain). The pin marks the coordinates in the record; old townsites are often a little off.

Historic maps

9 historic USGS maps cover Nortonville

Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.

Directions

Getting there

Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Before you go

  • Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
  • Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
  • Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.

Nearby

Other sites near Nortonville

Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our California index.

Sources

Sources

  1. ghosttowns.com, "Nortonville": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
  2. Wikipedia, "Nortonville, California": coordinates and summary.
  3. Wikidata Q7060713.
  4. USGS GNIS 1656192.
  5. USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
  6. USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).