George Wingfield
George Wingfield | |
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Born | Fort Smith, Arkansas | August 16, 1876
Died | December 25, 1959 Reno, Nevada | (aged 83)
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Banker and miner |
Known for | One of the state's most powerful economic and political figures during the period from 1909 to 1932 |
George Wingfield (August 16, 1876 - December 25, 1959) was a Nevada banker and miner. He was considered to be one of the state's most powerful economic and political figures during the period from 1909 to 1932. Wingfield rose from faro-dealer to the position of richest man in Nevada in less than five years.[1]
Biography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/A_team_of_12_horses_hauling_three_wagons_full_of_ore%2C_Goldfield%2C_Nevada%2C_ca.1905_%28CHS-5429%29.jpg/220px-A_team_of_12_horses_hauling_three_wagons_full_of_ore%2C_Goldfield%2C_Nevada%2C_ca.1905_%28CHS-5429%29.jpg)
Wingfield was born at Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1876. His family moved to Oregon when he was five years old, and he became a buckaroo on a ranch in Burns.[2] At age 20, he became a cattle drover in Nevada. He arrived in Tonopah in 1902 and dealt cards at the Tonopah Club.[3] He moved to Winnemucca, where he became friends with United States Senator George S. Nixon.[4] By the age of 30, he made a fortune in Nevada, having mined in Tonopah and Goldfield. With Nixon as his partner, Wingfield was worth $30 million after taking their Goldfield Consolidated Mining Company public in 1906, which had been organized with $50 million in capital. In 1906, his wife, May, filed for divorce; the case ended in an annulment.[5] In 1908, he moved to Reno and became active in politics, banking, ranching, and hotel-keeping. He owned many of the banks in Nevada, as well as several hotels in Reno, including the Riverside Hotel, and an international mining company.[6] He also ran a ranch and dairy farm in Fallon.[7] In 1928, Wingfield was elected to the University Board of Regents for the University of Nevada,[5] but rejected an offer to become a US Senator.[8] Much of Wingfield's fortune was lost during the Great Depression.[9]
George Wingfield died in Reno on December 25, 1959.[10]
Legacy
Wingfield Park, alongside the Truckee River in Reno, was built on land donated by George Wingfield. Starting in 1995, a new 1,660-acre, 400-home neighborhood was constructed on the site of George Wingfield's former Spanish Springs Ranch.[11] Red Hawk at Wingfield Springs was completed in 2005 and named after Wingfield by its developer, Harvey Whittemore.[12]
References
- ^ Harper's weekly (Public domain ed.). Harper & brothers. 1907. pp. 909–. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Toll, David W. (November 2002). The Complete Nevada Traveler, Revised Edition: The Affectionate And Intimately Detailed Guidebook To The Most Interesting State In America. University of Nevada Press. pp. 173–. ISBN 978-0-940936-12-6. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ Foundation, George Edward Durell (March 21, 1995). Money and banking: the American experience. George Mason University Press. p. 326. ISBN 978-0-913969-74-8. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ Southern Pacific Company. Passenger Dept (1912). Sunset (Public domain ed.). Passenger Dept., Southern Pacific Co. pp. 446–. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ a b Edwards, Jerome E. (January 1, 1982). Pat McCarran, political boss of Nevada. University of Nevada Press. pp. 10, 28, 41–. ISBN 978-0-87417-071-9. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ Raymond, C. Elizabeth (November 1, 1992). George Wingfield: owner and operator of Nevada. University of Nevada Press. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-0-87417-197-6. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ BeDunnah, Gary (April 26, 2006). Nevada, Our Home: Revision of Discovering Nevada. Gibbs Smith. pp. 160–. ISBN 978-1-58685-821-6. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ Reid, John Bevis; James, Ronald Michael (2004). Uncovering Nevada's past: a primary source history of the Silver State. University of Nevada Press. pp. 94–. ISBN 978-0-87417-567-7. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ "George Wingfield". Library, State of Nevada. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
- ^ "George Wingfield Dies". Reno Gazette-Journal. Associated Press. December 26, 1959. p. 1. Retrieved July 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "ULI - Development Case Studies". Urban Land Institute. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ^ Damon, Anjeanette (June 10, 2012). "Indictment caps lobbyist Harvey Whittemore's dramatic fall from grace". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved May 27, 2013.