It is the locus of the Goldfield CDP which had a resident population of 268 at the 2010 census,[3] down from 440 in 2000. Goldfield is located 247 miles (398km) southeast of Carson City, along U.S. Route 95.
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 at then-current prices. Much of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1923, although several buildings survived and remain today, notably the Goldfield Hotel, the Consolidated Mines Building (the communications center of the town until 1963), and the schoolhouse. Gold exploration continues in and around the town today.
Interior view of mine and miners in the Mohawk Mine, Goldfield, circa 1900–1905
The community was named for deposits of gold near the original town site.[4] Gold was discovered at Goldfield in 1902, its year of inception. By 1904, the Goldfield district produced about 800 tons of ore, valued at $2,300,000, 30% of the state's production that year.[5] This remarkable production caused Goldfield to grow rapidly, and it soon became the largest town in the state with about 20,000 people.[6]
Goldfield, Nevada's courthouse in a postcard dated 1907
One notorious, early Goldfield resident was George Graham Rice, a former check forger, newspaperman, and racetrack tipster, turned mining stock promoter. The collapse of his Sullivan Trust Company and its associated mining stocks caused the failure of the Goldfield State Bank in 1907. Rice quickly left Goldfield, but continued to promote mining shares for another quarter-century.[7][8]
A prominent resident from 1906 was George Wingfield, one of Nevada's entrepreneurs, who built the Goldfield Hotel. In collaboration with his partner George S. Nixon (who was to become a US senator in 1904), Wingfield started in Belmont, Nevada in 1901, and saw the potential of Goldfield after mining at Tonopah, 27 miles (43km) north, took off. Nixon and Wingfield made huge fortunes in Goldfield by forming the Goldfield Consolidated Mining Company. By 1906, they were worth $30 million.[9]
Wingfield moved to Reno, where his great wealth could be spread across northern Nevada and northern California. Between 1903 and 1918, mining in Belmont and Goldfield grew from $2.8 million to $48.6 million.[10]
Wyatt and Virgil Earp came to Goldfield in 1904. Virgil was hired as a Goldfield deputy sheriff in January 1905. In April, he contracted pneumonia and, after six months of illness, died on October 19, 1905. Wyatt left Goldfield shortly afterward.[11]
Goldfield reached a peak population around 20,000 people in 1906 and hosted a lightweight boxing championship match between Joe Gans and Oscar "Battling" Nelson.[10]
In addition to the mines, Goldfield was home to large reduction works. The gold output in 1907 was over $8.4 million, the year in which the town became the county seat; in 1908, output was about $4,880,000. In the early 1900s, Consolidated Mining dug an adit at Alkali, Nevada to deliver water 10 miles (16km) to the 100-stamp Combination Mill near Goldfield.[12]
By the 1910 census, its population had declined to 4,838. Part of the problem was the increasing cost of pumping brine out of the diggings, making them uneconomic. By 1912, ore production had dropped to $5 million, and the largest mining company left town in 1919. In 1923, a fire caused by a moonshine still explosion destroyed most of the town's flammable buildings. Some brick and stone buildings from before the fire remain, including the hotel and the high school.
Soon after mining on an extensive scale began, the miners organized themselves as a local branch of the Western Federation of Miners, which also included many laborers. Between this branch and the mine owners, serious differences arose, and several strikes occurred in December 1906 and January 1907 for higher wages.[5]
In March and April 1907, the owners refused to discharge carpenters who belonged to American Federation of Labor, but were not members of the Industrial Workers of the World-affiliated Western Federation of Miners; a strike followed, resulting in forcing the IWW out of Goldfield,[5] despite at one point counting the 1,500 miners as well as hundreds of white-collar and service workers as members.[13]
This defeat came after a bitter struggle which saw IWW organizer Vincent St. John first imprisoned and charged with conspiracy, then shot by a gunman in the street on November 5 along with two other IWW members.[14]
Beginning in August 1907, a rule was introduced at some of the mines requiring miners to change their clothing before entering and after leaving the mines – made necessary according to the operators by the wholesale theft of the valuable ore (worth as much as $20 a pound) in a practice known as "high-grading". In November and December 1907, some of the owners adopted a system of paying in cashier's checks. Except for occasional attacks upon nonunion workmen, or persons unsympathetic to the miners' union, no serious disturbance in Goldfield occurred. However,at the insistence of the mine owners, Governor Sparks, appealed in December 1907 to PresidentTheodore Roosevelt to send federal troops to Goldfield on the grounds that the situation there was ominous, that destruction of life and property seemed probable, and that the state had no militia and would be powerless to maintain order.[5]
On December 4, 1907, Roosevelt ordered the commander of the Division of California at San Francisco, General Frederick Funston, to proceed with 300 federal troops to Goldfield. The troops arrived in Goldfield on December 6, and immediately afterwards, the mine owners reduced wages and announced that no members of the Western Federation of Miners would thereafter be employed in the mines. Roosevelt, becoming convinced that conditions had not warranted Sparks's appeal for assistance, but that the immediate withdrawal of the troops might lead to serious disorder, consented that they should remain for a short time on condition that the state should immediately organize an adequate militia or police force. Accordingly, a special meeting of the legislature was immediately called, a state police force was organized, and on March 7, 1908, the troops were withdrawn. Thereafter, work was gradually resumed in the mines, the dispute having been won by the mine-owners.[5]
An average of 35.9 afternoons with maximum temperatures of 90°F (32°C) or higher and 146.1 mornings with minimum temperatures of 32°F (0°C) occur. The record high temperature was 108°F (42°C) on July 20, 1906, and June 9, 1935. The record low temperature was −23°F (−31°C) on January 21, 1937. On average, 1.5 mornings per year have temperature of or below 0°F (−18°C), and an average of 10.6 days per year have temperatures of 32°F (0°C) or lower all day long.
The long-term average precipitation in Goldfield is 6.06 inches (15cm). An average of 29 days have measurable precipitation. The wettest calendar year was 1978 with 13.19 inches (34cm) and the driest 1934 with 1.47 inches (4cm). The most precipitation in one month was 6.07 inches (15cm) in August 1931, and the most in 24 hours was 2.43 inches (6cm) on June 19, 1918.
Average snowfall is 17.8 inches (45cm). The most snowfall in one year was 52.5 inches (133cm) in 1969, including the record monthly snowfall of 42.0 inches (107cm) in February 1969.[15]
Main Street, Goldfield, 1904The run=down Goldfield High School building in October 2009The Goldfield Hotel in 2009
The population decline continued throughout the 20th century, dwindling to 275 by 1950.
The 2000 census showed 440 people, 221 households, and 118 families resided in the Goldfield census county division. The racial makeup of the CCD was 93.2% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 2.0% Native American, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 1.4% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. About 5.2% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Present-day attractions
While the unoccupied buildings of the town remain an attraction, they are not abandoned. Each building has an owner, many with plans to renovate the property.[citation needed] The Goldfield Days festival is held in August each year, featuring parades, booths, historical displays, and a land auction.
Parts of the cult classic 1971 car chase movie Vanishing Point were filmed in Goldfield, and it was the site of the fictitious radio station "KOW", and the DJ "Super-Soul".
Parts of Goldfield, and also parts of nearby Tonopah, served as the fictional town of Baxter, California, in the 1998 filmDesert Blue.[24]
↑ Garside, J. L.; Schilling, J. H. (1979). "Thermal Waters of Nevada"(PDF). Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Bulletin (91). Reno: 27. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
Esmeralda County is a county in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 729, making it the least populous county in Nevada, and the 20th least populous county in the United States. Esmeralda County does not have any incorporated communities. Its county seat is the town of Goldfield.
Beatty is an unincorporated town along the Amargosa River in Nye County, Nevada, United States. U.S. Route 95 runs through the town, which lies between Tonopah, about 90 miles (140 km) to the north and Las Vegas, about 120 miles (190 km) to the southeast. State Route 374 connects Beatty to Death Valley National Park, about 8 miles (13 km) to the west.
Tonopah is an unincorporated town in, and the county seat of, Nye County, Nevada, United States. Nicknamed the Queen of the Silver Camps for its mining-rich history, it is now primarily a tourism-based resort city, notable for attractions like the Mizpah Hotel and the Clown Motel.
Eureka is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in and the county seat of Eureka County, Nevada, United States. With a population of 414 as of the 2020 United States census, it is the second-largest community in Eureka County. Attractions include the Eureka Opera House, Raine’s Market and Wildlife Museum, the Jackson House Hotel, and the Eureka Sentinel Museum.
Rhyolite is a ghost town in Nye County, in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is in the Bullfrog Hills, about 120 miles (190 km) northwest of Las Vegas, near the eastern boundary of Death Valley National Park.
Silver Peak is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Esmeralda County, Nevada, United States. It lies along State Route 265, 20 miles (32 km) south of U.S. Route 6 and 30 miles (48 km) west of Goldfield, the county seat of Esmeralda County. It has a post office, with the ZIP code of 89047. The population of Silver Peak was 142 as of 2019.
Coaldale is a former mining town and true ghost town in Esmeralda County, Nevada, located at the junction of U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 95 about 40 miles (64 km) west of Tonopah.
Manhattan is an unincorporated town in Nye County, Nevada, located at the end of Nevada State Route 377, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Tonopah, the county seat.
Ruth is a census-designated place (CDP) in White Pine County, Nevada, United States. Founded in 1903, it had a population of 440 at the 2010 census.
Blair, Nevada is a mining ghost town in Esmeralda County, Nevada.
The History of Nevada as a state began when it became the 36th state on October 31, 1864, after telegraphing the Constitution of Nevada to the Congress days before the November 8 presidential election. Statehood was rushed to help ensure three electoral votes for Abraham Lincoln's reelection and add to the Republican congressional majorities.
The Mizpah Hotel is a historic hotel in Tonopah, Nevada, U.S. It is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
George Wingfield was a Nevada cattleman and gambler who became a financier, investor and one of the state's most powerful economic and political figures during the period from 1909 to 1932. With future senator George S. Nixon as his mentor after he settled in Winnemucca in 1899, and fellow gambler John Hennessy as his partner in the mining boomtown of Tonopah after 1901, Wingfield rose from faro-dealer to become richest man in Nevada in less than five years.
The Goldfield, Nevada labor troubles of 1906–1907 were a series of strikes and a lockout which pitted gold miners and other laborers, represented by the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), against mine owners and businessmen.
Alkali is a ghost town located in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Alkali is the site of Alkali Hot Spring, which was operated as a spa by Geni and Joe Guisti in the 1930s. During Goldfield's peak, the site included an indoor wooden swimming pool with a separate area for children and a large building containing a dining room, kitchen, dance hall and bar. In front of the dining room were tall tamarisk trees and a large picnic table where visitors could either order from the dining room or bring their own lunches. The Guisti residence was at the rear of the dining room. Geni Guisti served young folks grape juice over ice at the bar, which was considered a real treat. Friday and Saturday night dances were attended by Tonopah residents.
The Nevada State League was an Independent level minor league baseball league that played in the 1907 season. The four–team Nevada State League consisted of teams based in Nevada. The Nevada State League played just the 1907 season before permanently folding. Notably, league president John T. Powers was scheduled to umpire a league game in Goldfield, Nevada during the season and took the field with revolvers strapped around his waist, before law enforcement intervened.
The Carson City team was a minor league baseball team based in Carson City, Nevada in 1907. The team nickname was noted to be the "Capitals", as Carson City played the 1907 season as members of the Independent level Nevada State League. The 1907 Carson City team is the only minor league team hosted in Carson City to date.
The Goldfield "Miners" were a minor league baseball team based in Goldfield, Nevada. The "Miners" played the 1907 season as members of the Independent level Nevada State League. Goldfield won the league championship in the only season of minor league play in Goldfield, Nevada.
The Tonopah team was a minor league baseball team based in Tonopah, Nevada in 1907. The team moniker was noted to be the "Mollycoddlers," as Tonopah played the 1907 season as members of the Independent level Nevada State League. The 1907 Tonopah team was the only minor league team hosted in Tonopah, Nevada.
Mayme O'Connor Schweble was an American prospector and politician who served in the Nevada Assembly from 1924 until 1926. A member of the Republican Party, she represented Nye County in the legislature. Schweble was a well-respected gold miner in Nevada, and operated a large mining property together with her husband and sons. She was also a prominent politician, quickly rising to become a leader in local Republican organizations, particularly in women's groups.
References
Rinella, Heidi Knapp, Off the Beaten Path: Nevada, Guildford, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 2007. ISSN 1537-3304
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