Tonopah, NV (5/20 thru 5/22/2020)

Tonopah is a variation on a Shoshone word meaning "small water" or "warm spring", no one seems to know for sure.  The Paiute also have a similar sounding word that means "water".  The town was named by its founder, Jim Butler, a rancher and part time miner who found silver ore while looking for a burro that had escaped.  One of the largest silver strikes in history, Butler named his mine Mizpah, a Hebrew word meaning "watchtower".   Numerous other mines were developed in the area, but it appears all have played out, leaving Tonopah to struggle for survival.  Butler and his wife Isabella (fondly known as Belle) are recognized in town by statues on Main St.

Here is a view of the town from a distant mountain, and the mountains seen as one leaves town to the south.

Being mid-way between Las Vegas and Reno, Tonopah is a natural stopping point for travelers between the two larger cities.  The Mizpah Hotel, built in 1908 and restored in recent years, is luxurious and was the tallest building in Nevada for some time. 

In 1908, the Great New York To Paris Road Race passed through Tonopah.  The original route of the race was to Nome, Alaska and then across the frozen Bering Strait.  Once the six cars in the race reached Valdez, conditions were so bad they changed plans and took a ship across the ocean.  After 169 days, the American entry (the Thomas Flyer) was declared the winner because the first finisher had cheated.  The Flyer is now in a Reno museum.

Jack Dempsey lived and fought in the area around Tonopah while building a career leading to the World Heavyweight Championship.  He and another man fought to a draw where each was to receive $150.  However, Dempsey's manager lost the money gambling.  In a rematch, Dempsey received the $100 prize directly.  He and the other fighter went to the bar to celebrate, but two gunmen came in and robbed everyone, including Dempsey.

Tonopah's population, once over 10,00, declined steadily and is now around 2500, but the remaining residents haven't given up.  They promote tourism any way they can think of.  The old Mizpah Mine is now the town's mining park.  Beyond that, mining artifacts can be found all over town.

The local high school athletes call themselves the Muckers, probably the dirtiest job in mining.

In addition to the Mizpah Hotel, visitors are welcomed to the "world famous" Clown Motel, which has an office lined with shelves containing 700 clown dolls.  The motel advertises "a vampire in every room".  If that's not creepy enough, the original town cemetery (1901-1911) is right next door.

Given its location in the middle of the Nevada wilderness, Tonopah is known for its dark skies.  To encourage stargazers to visit, the town has created "Stargazers' Park where folks can sit and observe the skies.  On a hill in town, two observatories have also been constructed for celestial observation.

Tonopah Station is the primary casino and shopping mall in town, but it was closed during my stay.  They also offer RV parking, also closed due to coronavirus.

Nellis Air Force Base, just north of Las Vegas, uses the desert land near Tonopah for testing new planes and weapons systems.  Even nuclear weapons have been tested there.  In fact, throughout the history of aviation, the Nevada desert has been a part of testing aircraft, as shown in a local mural.

The B-29 shown has the name "Mizpah" on its nose, but I found no record of a B-29 with that name.  There was a B-17 "Mizpah", however, shot down during a bombing run over Europe during WWII.

While I had not planned on staying in Tonopah, the town proved once again that almost any place can have an interesting story, if one only takes the time to seek it out.