An infamous conman, Walter E. Scott made his living hawking a gold mine no one every saw. Courtesy of the National Park Service

Deep in the Grapevine Mountains in Death Valley National Park, California, a Spanish colonial-style villa stands as a landmark to Death Valley Scotty. Walter E. Scott, better known as Scotty, was a conman and a self-pronounced wealthy gold prospector, whose legend comes from his tales of owning a secret gold mine in the Death Valley.