Goldfield in Esmeralda County, Nevada — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Where’s Gran Pah?
Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, March 31, 2018
1. Where’s Gran Pah? Marker
Gran Pah, in Shoshone, means “great water,” and was the first name given to the mining district founded by two native Nevadans who staked three claims – the Sandstorm, May Queen and Kruger – on the ridge of Columbia Mountain in 1902.
Harry Stimler and William Marsh were sent out to stake mining claims for Jim Butler and Tom Kendall. Butler and Kendall originally paid Thomas Fisherman $10 to stake the claim after he showed them a specimen of ore, however Fisherman drank up the money and all they could get from him was that the specimen came from an area 30 miles south of Tonopah. The Tonopah district was booming with miners who found more silver than gold. Stimler and Marsh, at Gran Pah, staked claims where the ratio of gold to silver turned out to be three ounces of gold to every one ounce of silver. Gran Pah would be aptly renamed Goldfield on October 20, 1903.
Gran – Spanish for “grand” meaning “large.”
Pah – likely derived from the Shoshone word “baa” meaning “water.”
Erected by Goldfield Historical Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce
this page online
Location. 37° 42.566′ N, 117° 14.263′ W. Marker is in Goldfield, Nevada, in Esmeralda County. It is at the intersection of Veterans Memorial Hwy (U.S. 95) and First Street, on the right when traveling west on Veterans Memorial Hwy. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 201 Crook Ave, Goldfield NV 89013, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Sierra Nevada and specifically in Central Nevada. It is also in the American Southwest and in the Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexico’s Alta California.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Goldfield’s Railroads (here, next to this marker); Goldfield (a few steps from this marker); Nixon Wingfield Building (about 800 feet away, measured in a direct line); Consolidated Telephone-Telegraph Company Building (approx. 0.2 miles away); West Side Elementary School (approx. 0.2 miles away); California Beer Hall Warehouse (approx. 0.2 miles away); Goldfield Community Center (approx. ¼ mile away); Gans vs. Nelson (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Goldfield.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Southern Nevada Consolidated Telephone-Telegraph Company Building (was approx. 0.2 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, March 31, 2018
2. Where’s Gran Pah? Marker
Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, March 31, 2018
3. Goldfield Visitor Center
Marker is next to the Goldfield Visitor Center
Credits. This page was last revised on May 8, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 10, 2018, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. This page has been viewed 441 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 10, 2018, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
