Tonopah, Nevada

Tonopah, Nevada
—  CDP  —
Main Street, with Mizpah Hotel on the left.
Nickname(s): Queen of the Silver Camps
Tonopah, Nevada, is located in the Tonopah Basin near the Nye County border.
Coordinates: 38°4′9″N 117°13′50″W
Country	United States
State	Nevada
Government
• Senate	Mike McGinness (R)
• Assembly	Ed Goedhart (R)
• U.S. Congress	Mark Amodei (R)
Area
• Total	16.2 sq mi (42.0 km2)
• Land	16.2 sq mi (42.0 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	6,047 ft (1,843 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	2,627
• Density	162.1/sq mi (62.6/km2)
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	89049
Area code(s)	775
FIPS code	32-73600
GNIS feature ID	0845985

Tonopah is a census-designated place (CDP) located in and the county seat of Nye County, Nevada. It is located at the junction of U.S. Routes 6 and 95 approximately mid-way between Las Vegas and Reno.

Its name was given to it by its founder, Jim Butler, and it is thought to be a Shoshone Indian word, pronounced "tuh-noe-puh." Although the town previously had a variety of names, including Butler City, Jim Butler's name remained. It is said to mean "hidden spring".

In the 2000 census the population was 2,627 and the CDP has a total area of 16.2 square miles (42 km²), all land.

History

Tonopah in 1913

Mizpah mine

The community began circa 1900 with the discovery of gold and silver-rich ore by prospector Jim Butler when he went looking for a lost burro he owned. The burro had wandered off during the night and sought shelter near a rock outcropping. When Butler discovered the animal the next morning, he picked up a rock to throw at the beast, but instead noticed the rock was unusually heavy. He had stumbled upon the second-richest silver strike in Nevada history.

While Butler may have been responsible for the first ore strike, it took men of wealth and power to consolidate the mines and reinvest their profits into the infrastructure of the town of Tonopah. George Wingfield, a 24-year old poker player when he arrived in Tonopah, played poker and dealt faro in the town saloons. Once he had a small bankroll he talked Jack Carey, owner of the Tonopah Club, into taking him in as a partner and to file for a gaming license. In 1903, miners rioted against Chinese workers in Tonopah, which spurred a boycott in China of U.S. goods.

By 1904, after investing his winnings in the Boston-Tonopah Mining Company, Wingfield was worth $2 million. When old friend George S. Nixon, a banker, arrived in town, Wingfield invested in his Nye County Bank. They grub staked miners with friend Nick Abelman, bought existing mines, and by the time the partners moved to Goldfield, Nevada and made their Goldfield Consolidated Mining Company a public corporation in 1906, Nixon and Wingfield were worth over $30 million

Real estate and gaming became big business throughout Central Nevada, but Wingfield saw the end of the gold and silver mining riches coming and took his bankroll to Reno where he invested heavily in real estate and casinos. By 1910, gold production was falling and by 1920 the town of Tonopah had less than half the population it had fifteen years earlier.

Small mining ventures continued to provide income for local miners and the small town struggled on, taking advantage of its location about halfway between Reno and Las Vegas as a stopover and rest spot on a lonely highway. Today the Tonopah Station has slots and the Banc Club also offers some gaming.

Recently, Tonopah has relied on the nearby Tonopah Test Range as its main source of employment. The military has used the range and surrounding areas as a nuclear test site, a bombing range, and as a base of operations for the development of the F-117 Nighthawk.

Tonopah's current fame may rest on the reference to it in the chorus of the song "Willin'" by Lowell George of Little Feat on the albums Little Feat, Sailin' Shoes and Waiting for Columbus, but it is also possible that the song is actually referring to Tonopah, Arizona:

And I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari, Tehachapi to Tonopah.

I've driven every kind of rig that's ever been made;

driven the backroads so I wouldn't get weighed.

Climate

Tonopah has an arid climate with cool winters and very warm summers. Due to frequent low humidity, daily temperature ranges are quite large, resulting in cool nights even in midsummer.

The average January temperatures are a maximum of 44.1 °F (6.7 °C) and a minimum of 19.1 °F (−7.2 °C). The average July temperatures are a maximum of 91.6 °F (33.1 °C) and a minimum of 56.9 °F (13.8 °C). There are an average of 50.3 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and 157.8 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower. The record high temperature in Tonopah was 104 °F (40 °C) on July 18, 1960. The record low temperature was −15 °F (−26 °C) on January 24, 1937 and January 23, 1962.

Average annual precipitation is 5.09 inches (12.9 cm). There are an average of 37 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1946 with 10.27 inches (26.1 cm) and the dryest year was 1927 with 1.92 inches (4.9 cm). The most precipitation in one month was 2.87 inches (7.3 cm) in November 1946. The most precipitation in 24 hours was 1.62 inches (4.1 cm) on August 17, 1977. Average annual snowfall is 13.0 inches (33 cm). The most snowfall in one year was 79.3 inches (201 cm) in 1946, including 37.0 inches (94 cm) in November 1946.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,627 people, 1,109 households, and 672 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 162.1 people per square mile (2.59/km²). There were 1,561 housing units at an average density of 96.3 per square mile (37.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.24% White, 0.76% African American, 1.41% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 2.82% from other races, and 3.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.17% of the population.

There were 1,109 households out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.4% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 108.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.9 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $37,401, and the median income for a family was $47,917. Males had a median income of $40,018 versus $22,056 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,256. About 5.7% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.3% of those under age 18 and 19.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

• Andriza Mircovich, only prisoner to be executed by shooting in Nevada.
• William Robert Johnson, Roman Catholic bishop.
• Barbara Graham, the notorious Butcher of Burbank. Only woman to be executed in California.

Places of interest

• Mizpah Hotel, built in 1905

References

• McCracken, Robert D., A History of Tonopah Nevada, (1992), ISBN 1-878138-52-9

External links

• June 2009 Photos of Tonopah and Goldfield, Nevada
• Official town website Retrieved 22 October 2009
• Tonopah photos and information at WesternMiningHistory.com Retrieved 22 October 2009
• Official State of Nevada Tourism site
• Photos of Mizpah mine at Historic American Engineering Record
• Official website of the Central Nevada Museum, which is located in the town and which may be visited at no charge Retrieved 22 October 2009