As a result of the mining excitement at Tonopah in 1901 and subsequent construction of the Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad, Millers was founded in 1904 as a station and watering stop on that line. The name honors Charles R. Miller, a director of the . . . — — Map (db m240322) HM
This statue depicts Big Bill Murphy, hero of the tragic Tonopah Belmont Mine fire that killed 17 miners on February 23, 1911. Murphy went down in the mine cage a number of times to bring up stricken miners.
On the last trip he did not return. . . . — — Map (db m62320) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m188165) HM
For Belle to be so involved in the business of mining was unusual. In 1900 women were not allowed to vote, be on juries or hold elected office, and it was certainly socially inappropriate to be involved in "men's work" as heavily as was Bell, but . . . — — Map (db m188147) HM
The mural you are viewing was painted by noted mural
artist, Lee Bowerman of Grand Junction, Colorado and
is dedicated to Nevada Mine Safety in remembrance of
the Belmont Mine Fire of February 23, 1911 and the
heroism of cage tender, William . . . — — Map (db m129265) HM
Built in 1905 at a cost of $27,965.00 by Continental Construction Company. Site selected by commission April 1 and donated by Jim Butler's Tonopah Mining Company. On Tuesday, February 7, 1905 Governor Sparks signed the bill to remove the county seat . . . — — Map (db m3916) HM
Buried here are many of Tonopah's Pioneer Residents including 14 victims of the Tonopah-Belmont Mine fire of Feb. 23, 1911 as well as the victims of the 1902 Tonopah Plague. Cemetery fenced 1979 — — Map (db m188166) HM
The pile of pipe beside the building is fan pipe which was used to send air down the mine and through the workings for ventilation. The air was supplied by large fans on the surface. The pile of wire on the hill behind the building is banding from . . . — — Map (db m89635) HM
The Glory Hole was created in 1922 when a large underground stope caved in. It happed in the evening as the mine was only working one shift at a time, no one was hurt. The size of the stope can be judged by the size of the hole. There are many more . . . — — Map (db m188142) HM
It was one thing to blast, drill and muck up the rock underground. It was quite another to get the rock with the riches to the surface. The most obvious solution was to put the rocks in a bucket of some kind and push, or lift it, to get it out of . . . — — Map (db m188151) HM
Look above you to the large headframe of the Mizpah Mine on the hill. Imagine entering a cage at the bottom of that headframe. You would be lowered 1,500 feet (more than a 1/4 of a mile!), the depth of the Mizpah shaft. When you reached the bottom . . . — — Map (db m89625) HM
In May 1900, Jim and Belle Butler came prospecting from their hay ranch at Belmont to stake the claims that gave rise to Tonopah. This was the first silver bonanza of the 20th century. It prompted a mining renaissance and this heritage is Tonopah's . . . — — Map (db m62321) HM
Born - June 13, 1874 Lake Linden, Michigan
Died - March 4, 1931 San Francisco, California
This monument, constructed in 1931 was dedicated in memory of John G. Kirchen. Tonopah businessman and manager of The Tonopah Extension Mining Co. . . . — — Map (db m46508) HM
Tonopah's remote location created an expensive obstacle. Digging the mineral out of the ground was one thing. Transporting it to the mill and eventually the marketplace was another.
Giant Wagons
Large wagons hitched in tandem were used to . . . — — Map (db m188160) HM
In 1907-08, to celebrate Tonopah's newfound prosperity, Geo Wingfield, Geo Nixon, Bob Govan and the Brougher Brothers collaborated to erect "The best hotel in Nevada". 1931 saw legalized gambling returned and a small casino was opened. 1956 new . . . — — Map (db m89426) HM
Jim and Belle Butler, along with their associates, sold their claims to investors who formed the Tonopah Mining Company of Nevada. In 1902 development began on the Silver Top Claim. A shaft was suck to 700 feet and eventually a wooden headframe was . . . — — Map (db m188164) HM
When the prospectors wandered the Nevada Desert, they looked for specific types and combinations of rock. Often a certain rock, such as quartz in this vicinity, would signal the presence of gold, silver, or other metals which could mean a new . . . — — Map (db m107137) HM
The stopes are where the ore bodies were mined out. These show where the veins actually came to the surface. Jim Butler's original discovery was on these veins near the back of the old fire house. The ore bodies averaged about 500' in depth and most . . . — — Map (db m89627) HM
Marjorie Moore Brown worked for Nevada's vote & the Nineteenth Amendment. Suffrage meetings held here at Mizpah Hotel 1912-1914. — — Map (db m223914) HM
Once the ore was mined and sacked, it had to be hauled to the railroad. That task was entrusted to the Teamsters, so called because they drove teams of mules, horses or both. Each Teamster was assisted by a Swamper, who watered and fed the . . . — — Map (db m89632) HM
It didn't matter how long or small a mine was. Miners tools and dynamite had to be hauled in, and ore, tools and miners had to be hoisted out.
The Whim
The simplest hoist - a pully with a rope leading down into the shaft.
The Whip . . . — — Map (db m188137) HM
A great mystery of the desert is how quickly word travels of a rich mineral strike! The discovery started America's last great mining rush. Belle and Jim devised a plan to handle the rush. They leased parts of their claim, the richest of . . . — — Map (db m89626) HM
Transporting supplies to the mines and hauling ore and bullion out to the mills and to marker was the job of the railroads. The Tonopah & Goldfield standard gauge railroad arrived in camp on Monday August 16, 1905. With spurs extending to the mines, . . . — — Map (db m188131) HM
In 1900. Jim Butler stopped at a site known as Tonapah, or Little Water, in the Western Shoshone language. Taking a few rock samples, he discovered a mine that led to one of the most important mineral finds of the early twentieth century. As the . . . — — Map (db m52843) HM
To Jim Butler, District Attorney of Nye County, goes the credit for making the ore discoveries which ended the twenty-year slump in Nevada's economy. Migratory Indian bands originally applied the name Tonopah to a small spring in the nearby San . . . — — Map (db m42454) HM
Eight miles northwest of this point lies what was formerly one of the leading lead-producing districts in the nation. Producing erratically from ore discovery in 1866 to the present (the last mill closed in 1937), Tybo has managed to achieve an . . . — — Map (db m89416) HM
The hidden vein of silver ore in the middle of the road was exposed when the road was bladed in the 1950's. The vein was missed by the old timers and is an example of how all the outcropped veins looked when they were discovered by Jim Butler in May . . . — — Map (db m89633) HM
Raising thousands of pounds of rock from the depths of the earth required a massive headframe, strong engines and powerful cables to make it all work. The Mizpah had one of the earliest steel headframes. It weighed about 60,000 pounds and could . . . — — Map (db m188116) HM
Built around 1908, this building was used to house coal unloaded from the Tonopah & Goldfield Railroad in Tonopah. The bin was donated by Larry Moss and moved to this location by the Nye County Road Department. — — Map (db m89630) HM
