Tonopah honors its beginnings with festive Jim Butler Days

A chance discovery of ore rich in silver in 1900 by Central Nevada rancher Jim Butler sparked a mining boom to rival the fabulous days of the Comstock Lode decades earlier in Virginia City. When word of Butler's find got out, a boom started that drew Nevada out of a deep depression. Soon, a camp called Butler grew near the site of Jim Butler's original strike near Tonopah Spring.

Prospectors fanned out from the original site in a search for precious minerals, which spawned dozens of new camps and towns.

Renamed Tonopah in 1905, the camp grew into one of the largest and most prosperous cities in Nevada. Known as the queen of Nevada's silver mining towns, Tonopah lured thousands of hopefuls with her promise of riches. Roads and railroads brought people, supplies and building materials to the town and its expanding mines and mills. Substantial brick and concrete structures soon replaced original tents, shacks and dugouts.

Many Tonopah residents who established fortunes and reputations in those flush boom decades went on to positions of importance and power in the state and nation. Jim Butler himself sold out early, comfortably enriched by his discovery. Most of the communities born during the boom died young. Tonopah and neighboring Goldfield clung to life, surviving into old age on several mining revivals, their positions along US 95, their status as rural county seats, government installations and on tourists drawn in search of the Old West.

Tonopah annually honors its beginnings during Jim Butler Days, scheduled by the Tonopah Chamber of Commerce each Memorial Day weekend. Make reservations for the town's limited number of motel rooms or RV sites soon, as they rapidly fill up. Contact the chamber of commerce for information on accommodations at (775) 482-3859 or investigate Tonopah lodgings and RV or trailer parks online.

The festivities begin May 22 with a street dance to live music at Pocket Park. Organizers also plan the annual Bartenders' Race during the street dance. Vendors will man food booths in the park all weekend. and a children's train in the park will provide thrills for young passengers.

On May 23, local Boy Scouts will prepare a community breakfast a the Elks lodge downtown. At the nearby Tonopah Convention Center, a craft fair gets under way. Every small town celebration needs a parade. The Jim Butler Days Parade on the highway through town starts at 10 a.m. Count on every kid, dog, horse and politician in town to be part of the fun.

Following the parade, head for the Tonopah Mining Park overlooking town behind the landmark Mizpah Hotel for the first rounds of the Nevada State Mining Championships. Amateurs and professionals as individuals or in teams compete in drilling and mucking events with age categories. Hand-drilling with a drill and hammer was done in mines to place dynamite charges. Mucking was the job of removing the rock blasted away by loading mine carts. Winners of the jackpot contests take away cash awards. They qualify to compete in Carson City for the World Championships during the Nevada Day observance in October.

Other May 23 events include a dance and karaoke contest beginning at 6 p.m. in the convention center. Racing fans head for the Tonopah Speedway east of Tonopah on US 6 for the CNRA dirt track races starting at 7 p.m.

Other events over the weekend include Memorial Day observances. Timing of ceremonies planned by chapters of the Tonopah Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Round Mountain American Legion allows people to attend both events.

The award-winning Tonopah Mining Park charges no entry fee to visitors during Jim Butler Days. The mining park and the Central Nevada Historical Museum, with its indoor and outdoor exhibits next to US 95, offer glimpses of the region's fascinating past. Pick up a brochure for the self-guided Murals and Monuments Walking Tour downtown. It includes vintage buildings, historical murals and statues of town founders Jim Butler and his wife, Belle.

Margo Bartlett Pesek's column appears on Sundays.