{"id":5419,"date":"2020-07-04T17:10:13","date_gmt":"2020-07-04T17:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.backroadswest.com\/blog\/seven-keyholes-slot-canyon-in-gold-butte-copy\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T04:01:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T04:01:21","slug":"goldfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.backroadswest.com\/blog\/goldfield\/","title":{"rendered":"Goldfield, a classic Mining Town"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Goldfield, named for the ore mined around it, was once Nevada\u2019s largest city and the state\u2019s biggest economic and political power.<\/strong> With the discovery of gold in 1902, Goldfield would become a rare, post-1900 major gold strike.\u00a0 It also experienced one of the largest gold rushes (and subsequent crashes) in western history. There are plenty of well-preserved remains of those boom years (between 1904 and 1915) still very visible today. If you\u2019re interested in living history, old antiques, geology or mining, you\u2019ll enjoy a visit to Goldfield.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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About\u00a0Goldfield<\/h3>

During its life, the mines of Goldfield recovered over $90 million in ore (mainly gold). After the Comstock Lode near Virginia City ($300 million recovered) and the silver mines in neighboring Tonopah ($148 million recovered), Goldfield was one of the richest mining districts in Nevada history. Along with attracting thousands of miners and prospectors, Goldfield\u2019s rush also attracted the usual get-rich-quick seekers, investors, bankers, saloon owners, and other assorted characters.<\/p>

The stories and antics of these characters are too much to include in this article. However, if you dig deep enough into the internet or books on Goldfield (like we did before our visit), you will find many entertaining, true stories. These stories are just waiting to be put onto the silver screen or in a new Netflix series.<\/p>

The mining district of Tonopah, just 25 miles to the north of Goldfield, was already booming by 1902 so it didn\u2019t take long for prospectors to explore the surrounding desert looking for more rich ore. And they found it on Columbia Mountain, which is just north of present-day Goldfield. Instead of the rich silver ore like that found in Tonopah, however, they found gold ore.\u00a0<\/p>

By 1904, many mines had been established and thousands of people were pouring into town which, at that time, consisted mainly of tent buildings that were quick and easy to put up. The rush also attracted many notable people including renowned investor Charles Schwab who came to Goldfield and purchased one of the mines for $75,000.<\/p>

The Earp brothers, Wyatt and Virgil, arrived in 1904 and Virgil became deputy sheriff of Esmeralda County (where Goldfield is located) in 1905. Sadly, he died of pneumonia later that year while still holding his post. Wyatt and his wife Josephine were seen regularly in Goldfield and Tonopah during this time, with Josephine strongly encouraging her husband to stay out of the gambling business.<\/p>

The building boom began in 1906 and by 1908, Goldfield looked like a modern-day city with numerous 3 and 4 story buildings. Unlike many mining districts that quickly faded after the economic collapse triggered by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the mines of Goldfield were unfazed. More and more money poured into Goldfield\u2019s economy and it was known to have some of the finest hotels west of the Mississippi.<\/p>