Goldfield is the county seat of Esmeralda County , Nevada . It is about 170 miles southeast of Carson City , along U.S. Highway 95 . As of the 2000 census , the Goldfield area population was 440, almost half of the county's population, though for several years in the early 20th century Goldfield was the largest town in Nevada. Goldfield was a boomtown in the first decade of the 20th century due to the discovery of gold  between 1903 and 1940, Goldfield's mines produced more than $86 million. While a small permanent population remains in Goldfield, it is largely a ghost town . Gold exploration still continues in and around the town today.