Thinking that local joshua trees were related to palm trees, the 1866 prospectors named the mining camp Palmetto. The town "died" and revived three times.

New prospecting in 1903 caused Palmetto to grow to a town of 200 tents on a platted townsite. At its peak year, 1906, the commercial street, over ½ mile long, contained all the necessary mining camp businesses.

Local miners drifted away in autumn, 1906. Mining, on a lease basis, has been minimal since that time. An important talc deposit lies nearby.