Tonopah Nevada

History of Tonopah Nevada

A rare photo of Wyatt Earp's The Northern Saloon at Tonopah, Nv in 1902. That's Wyatt Earp in the center of this picture and his wife "Sadie" sitting on the horse to the left. Wyatt operated The Northern Saloon for about a year and then he sold it.
Rudi Kraft writes: I checked some facts on Wyatt. Turns out he was an unbelievable gun fighter. Here are just a few encounters that he survived. Clay Allison in Dodge City, Kansas Johnny Ringo (killed), Ben Thompson (Ellsworth, Kansas), Curly Bill (killed). Clantons (Tombstone, AZ), his brother was killed in that one, Wyatt, as usual, not a scratch. I wrote a little book that may be of interest. Nevada a Strange State. It has a lot of those odd facts. For example: after 1939 riders on horseback were no longer allowed inside a casino.

50 Cent Beds and Dusty Streets, Tonopah in 1905
Here’s a fantastic 1905 image showing Tonopah during the height of its mining boom. Although the photo is labeled “Main Street,” it looks more like the junction of Oddie Avenue and Central Street. On the left is the Tonopah Lodging House, and just beyond it the Northern Lodging House with a sign advertising beds for 50 cents. A buckboard wagon swings around the corner while crews work the dirt road in front of them. Up on the hillside, mining activity is underway and the town looks alive from one end to the other.
Image courtesy of the University of Colorado Boulder Archives.

---