Chloride City is located within Death Valley National Park and it arose out of silver discoveries in nearby Chloride Cliff in 1873, the earliest of the Death Valley mines. The first road through Death Valley was constructed from Chloride City to San Bernardino which was the nearest town 180 miles away. In the 1870's ore was shipped out using trains of pack mules which would return carrying food and supplies to the camp. The mines of this small community struggled on for a few years, but by 1880 none were working and everybody had moved on. The nearby Bullfrog, Nevada, gold discovery excitement of 1904 brought in new capital. The Chloride Cliff Mine was bought by investors in nearby Rhyolite and re-opened in 1908. Sufficient ore was produced in subsequent years to warrant the construction of a cyanide mill in 1916. By 1918 the camp was deserted again..

The ghost town contains numerous adits, dumps and the grave of James McKay, of whom nothing is known. The town also holds the remains of three stamp mills.