Goldfield

A gold camp that became Nevada’s largest city

According to the National Register nomination for the Goldfield Historic District, ore was found on Columbia Mountain in December 1902. Marsh and Stimler located three first claims, including the Sandstorm. High-grade ore on the Combination claim followed in spring 1903. The townsite was laid out that October. A post office opened in January 1904, the first public school in May 1904, and a volunteer fire department by July 1904.

The Goldfield Historical Society’s walking tour booklet says the place grew from a tent camp of about 20 people in 1903 to 6,000 by January 1905 and 10,000 by the end of 1905. The nomination gives 8,000 in mid-1905, about 15,000 by fall 1906 and 20,000 by late 1907, when Goldfield was the largest city in Nevada. It lists 4,838 residents in 1910 and 1,558 in 1920. The nomination says Hayes and Monette uncovered the most valuable high-grade ore found in the district in April 1906.

On September 3, 1906, the Gans-Nelson lightweight fight was held in town. The nomination ties the promotion to George Graham Rice and G. L. “Tex” Rickard.

Production figures vary by source. The nomination gives $6,690,385 for 1906 and $7,781,038 for 1907, with a peak in 1910 of over $10,000,000. A historical marker behind the visitor center says more than $90 million in gold was produced from 1901 to 1940.

Strikes, flood and fire

The nomination describes four general strikes between summer 1906 and early 1908, inspired or led by the I.W.W. Mine owners formed an association in March 1907. The nomination says the operators pushed Governor Sparks to request federal troops, although no real violence had occurred. The county seat was transferred from Hawthorne to Goldfield in May 1907.

The walking tour booklet describes a flood on September 19, 1913, that killed two women, though its brewery entry gives the date as September 13. It says a fire on July 6, 1923, destroyed the Main Street area, about 25 blocks, and killed two men, and that a liquor still exploding in a house is believed to have started it. The nomination says the fire destroyed 53 blocks, including most of the commercial district. The sources do not agree on the size of the loss.

What remains

The nomination counts about 120 permanent buildings, mostly from 1904 to 1909. It names the Goldfield Hotel and the Esmeralda County Courthouse, built in 1907 and 1908. It also lists the Goldfield Consolidated Mines Building and the telephone and telegraph building. The Montezuma Club and First National Bank are ruins. A 1981 survey described the high school as deteriorating rapidly, and the booklet, which dates it to 1907, lists it as a numbered site.

The marker says the town’s population is hardly 270 residents. It is reached from U.S. Highway 95, and the marker stands behind the Goldfield Visitor Center.

Visiting today

The Historical Society’s booklet numbers its sites up to 191 for a self-guided walk. Some buildings are privately owned or run as businesses, such as the Santa Fe Saloon and the Dinky Diner. Treat any building that is occupied, fenced or closed as off limits. The booklet gives no hours or admission, so contact the Goldfield Historical Society (P.O. Box 393, Goldfield, NV 89013) or the visitor center before planning a stop. Leave artifacts where they are.