Or sooo the story goes - Jim Butler spent a chilly night in Tonopah Springs given it’s long history as an Indian campground. When his ornery mule wandered away, he threw a heavy rock at it in frustration which turned out to be laced with a bunch of silver…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The date was May 19, 1900, and Butler took some samples to an assayer in nearby Klondike. The assayer said the samples were worthless consisting mainly of iron, and threw them into the back of his tent…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
On a hunch, as Butler passed through Tonopah Springs again to his his Monitor Valley Ranch, he gathered some more samples. Back home he set them on his windowsill where Tasker Oddie, later to be governor of Nevada, passed by and offered to pay for another assay…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Then a bunch of stuff happened and BOOM on August 27, 1900, Butler and his wife filed eight claims which became some of the biggest producers of silver the state has ever had!
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
In 1901 the mines produced almost $750,000 in gold & silver, and Tonopah had six saloons, many restaurants, assay offices, lodging, doctors, lawyers, and a growing population of 650 people…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
In 1902 Butler sold his claims which were consolidated into the Tonopah Mining Company. The Company controlled 160 acres of land, and had holdings in the Tonopah-Goldfield Railroad. It also controlled mining companies in Colorado, Canada, California, and Nicaragua…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The World Famous Clown Motel is named “America's Scariest Motel” due to its clown theme and proximity to the cemetery where many Tonopah Miners are laid to rest…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
In 1942 a Man named Clarence David perished in the infamous Belmont Mine Fire. He happened to have a Clown Collection and in 1985 his children opened a Motel next to the Tonopah Cemetery where he was buried. As a memorial, they displayed his Clown Collection at the Motel…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
It was a 2015 episode of Ghost Adventurers that put the Motel “on the map!” The episode apparently caught a visual of a dark silhouette in the parking lot, and the hand of large clown waving on its own…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
In 2019 the Mehar family from Las Vegas, purchased the Motel to expand its brand… To book a room visit here: https://www.theclownmotelusa.com/
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Known as “The Jewel of the Desert,” the Mizpah Hotel opened in 1907 and served as a social hub for a booming mining town. If you visit, ask about the “Lady in the Red Dress!” You can book here: https://www.themizpahhotel.com/
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Vanwood Variety Store resides in the oldest stone building in Tonopah which was built in 1902. The building symbolizes the transition of the town from a mining camp into a legitimate township…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The Tonopah Liquor Company Building was designed in the Classical Revival style and features a large pediment with a stone cornice. It is now one of only four remaining stone buildings in town…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
In more modern times, Tonopah in known for the Tonopah Test Range which developed the F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter. The range has also been used to test nuclear weapons. In May 2020 there was a 6.5 magnitude earthquake near Tonopah, which Locals say was actually an underground Nuclear Test!
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Recently a solar company began producing power in November 2015 at a plant near Tonopah that uses liquid sodium as a heat transfer medium for its solar energy storage technology.
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler