Location: Approximately 182 miles north of Las Vegas and 26 miles south of Tonopah, Nevada on Hwy. 95.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Library of Congress collection.
Goldfield's ore was first discovered by an Indian prospector named Tom Fisherman. In 1902 on Columbia Mountain 2 prospectors that had gone to where Fisherman hung out, located gold ore on Columbia Mountain. Harry Stimler and William Marsh located the Sandstorm claim and the stage was set. Minor work was done in 1903 but the big rush started in 1904. Major backers of the early development included George Nixon and George Wingfield. The Jumbo, Florence, and January leases began to ship ore and it was reported that $10,000 per day was being made by the mines. A short-line railroad named the Goldfield R.R. was opened for business on Sept. 12, 1905 and connected the new town with Tonopah to the north. This railroad would soon be merged with the Tonopah railroad to become the Tonopah and Goldfield R.R.
Goldfield was the scene of one of the biggest prize fights of that era. Tex Rickard, a fight promoter, brought the light weight championship of the World to Goldfield in 1906. The fight was between the champion "Battling Nelson" and a black challenger, Joe Gans. The fight lasted 42 rounds with Joe Gans being declared the winner when Nelson fouled Gans in a clinch. Gans won $10,000 for the fight but Tex Rickard's fight had brought a gate total of some $72,000. Rickard eventually made it to New York City and the Madison Square Gardens.
At the high point, Goldfield could boast of 3 railroads, 4 schools, 5 banks, several newspapers, and 2 mining stock exchanges. Goldfield was also the site for "fierce" labor disputes that were only quelled with the introduction of federal troops in December of 1907. Goldfield began its decent for several different reasons. The mines began to play out in 1918 after some 80 to 125 million dollars of worth of gold were produced. A disastrous flood destroyed part of the town in 1913 and a fire took another 53 blocks of the town in 1923. The town today is a quiet retreat from its previous years. There are still many of the old homes and business buildings standing along with some newer businesses.
References: Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California, Vol. 1, Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps by Stanley W. Paher and The Complete Nevada Traveler by David W. Toll.
The book that is a must have for exploring Nevada is the book by Stanley W. Paher,