7-1-2021 TONOPAH, NV

 You cannot relax until you actually turn the key and leave the homestead.  Just ain’t happenin.’  Today, there is nothing I can do about anything at home.  The best I can do now is sit in the sunshine with a cup of coffee and work a Sudoku puzzle.  I’m all over it.

 Nevada became a state in this wonderful republic in 1864.  The silver and other precious metals that were mined, mostly in the northern regions, helped support the Union in the Civil War.  A small Indian village more central to Nevada had the Shoshone name, “Tonopah,” which means “water brush.”  It was near here in 1900 that a prospector named Jim Butler was scouting about, just like others trying to strike pay dirt.  The story tells of his stubborn burros that had wandered off seeking shelter from the sun and refused to budge.  Jim picked up a rock to throw at them and it was surprisingly heavy.  He had it assayed and the rest, as they say, is history.  I kind of like the burro story but many say it is an old wives’ tale.  In any case, Jim Butler had a few sacks of rocks assayed and went back to working his hay ranch in Belmont.  When the exciting results of the assay came back, he wasn’t particularly interested.  His wife, Belle, however had different ideas.  She insisted that they return to Tonopah and stake their claims.  The Butlers’ claims resulted in six successful mines, among them Desert Queen, Silver Top and Mizpah, so rich with gold and silver it makes my eyes water. 

They were philanthropic folks and offered miners leases to work the mines in exchange for 25% of their profits and the deals were sealed with nothing more than handshakes.  In today’s dollars, billions were extracted from the Butlers’ mines but eventually they lost interest, sold the mines, retired and moved to CA.  The Tonopah Mining Company continued the mining enterprises and the town grew in size to a thriving community of hotels, stores, stage lines, telephone lines and of course about 32 saloons.  Belle Butler, the kind and generous wife of Jim, never lost interest in Nevada and the mines and is now known as “The Mother of Nevada.”  Successful mining is still big in the area and 87% of our country’s gold comes from Nevada.

Grace (our lovely tour guide) and Lindy
at the Desert Queen head frame

Belle, Lindy and Jim 

 

There is an old cemetery where one can wander to visit the graves of those who died in the early 1900s.  Some of the old plaques explain the (usual) causes of death:  pneumonia, TB, murder.  Seventeen miners are buried here who lost their lives in a fire that destroyed the Belmont Mine in 1901.  One of the heroes of that disaster was a man named Bill Murphy.  Several times, he went down into the fire to rescue injured miners and on his last trip down, made the ultimate sacrifice and didn’t come back up.  He was 28 years old.  A sculpture honoring “Big Bill” stands outside the Tonopah Post Office and a mural on the wall of the adjacent building depicts the funeral procession in a blinding blizzard that took place for the 17 miners who perished.

Big Bill Murphy's sculpture

Mural depicting the funeral procession for
the 17 miners who died in the Belmont
Mine fire of 1901

 “Pah” is a Shoshone word meaning “water,” however, “mizpah” is not an Indian word.  It is the name of the richest of the Butlers’ mines and was the name chosen by Belle Butler, a God-fearing woman, for “her mine.”  It is a biblical word that was recorded in the book of Genesis and, as I interpret it, it signifies a sincere and binding partnership watched over by God.  The Mizpah Mine was the most successful of the Butlers’ claims and others began using the name, including the constructors of the Mizpah Hotel.  It was built in 1907 and was the tallest building in Nevada with 5 floors. 

 

 

During the silver boom days, it became the social gathering place for miners and elites and “friendly ladies,” if you will.  One mysterious Lady in Red, who kept many a miner happy, was stabbed and strangled to death in the hotel by a jealous suitor.  Many people believe that she haunts the hotel, the chandeliers rattle and things go bump in the night.  Among the rich and famous who have visited and stayed at the hotel are Wyatt Earp, Jack Dempsey (who acted as bouncer for the more raucous patrons) and a beloved NV Senator, Key Pittman.  Rumor was that he died during the election process in 1940 and the party leaders kept his body on ice in a bathtub in the hotel until the votes were counted.  You gotta love that.

 Now, we depart for Dayton, NV.

I guess you could say that Rob
is at the Bar Mizpah?