A Miner's Life

A Miner's Life. . Life in the early frontier mining camp of Tonopah was primitive and lonely. Most of the population, single men, lived in tents. Though water was hauled in from springs several miles away, food was brought in from great distances by freight teams. By 1901 the camp consisted of both tents and wooden dwellings and was called "Butler" in honor of its founder. Soon the name was changed to Tonopah., Home Sweet Home , Houses were made from whatever could be found including wood, canvas, cans, bottles, and even whisky barrels. Some were unusual and featured on postcards., Inside The Tent it could be sweltering in the summer heat or freezing in winter., Lottie Stimler's was the first boarding house in Tonopah (as hand written on the photograph). Lottie can be seen in the center of the cabin doorway. She arrived in Tonopah early in 1901 with tow wagons carrying groceries and furniture. Before she arrived, meals were cooked over fires and the mean sat on the ground to eat. But when Lottie got here, the men helped set up her tent and the first boarding house meal was enjoyed inside. By one account, "the cold wind seemed to blow right through the dining room without stopping, but the men} were all good natured and seemed well pleased with the first supper." Lottie's boarding house was located below the mining park, behind where the historic Mizpah Hotel stands today., Tonopah 1901 , The settlement was a combination of tents and wooden buildings. As the mines proved profitable, the camp evolved into a town. ,