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 NEVADA
LEGENDS
Goodsprings - Still Kicking
in the
Desert Dust |
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Goodsprings,
Nevada, 1924.
This image available for
photographic prints
and downloads
HERE! |
"Things
are quiet here, if people keep on moving away this ain't going to be nothing
but a damned ghost town."
-- Sam
McClanahan, from Ghost Towns of the West by Lambert Florin, 1970
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The natural springs and the area that surrounds what is now Goodsprings,
Nevada
were first used by the
Anasazi, and then the
Paiute
Indians. The
springs were first documented by white settlers in 1830 by a caravan that
traveled along the Old Spanish Trail. Mining first occurred in the area in
1856 when Mormons established a lead mine at nearby Potosi,
the oldest lode mine in
Nevada.
Though a small oasis in the desert, no settlement would be founded until
after Joseph Good discovered silver near the springs in 1861. Good, who was
primarily a cattleman, would establish a small store in the area, but a town
would not be established until more silver and lead deposits were discovered
around 1868. First called Good’s Springs, the name later evolved to
Goodsprings.
By 1882, gold had also been
discovered and the Goodsprings or
Yellow Pine Mining District was established. Later, more gold would be
found, with the Keystone Mine, about 5 miles west of Goodsprings, being
the most profitable. In 1893, a post office was established at the
Keystone Mine and the area supported about 200 people, just a few
stores, and numerous small mines dotting the landscape.
In 1893, the first post office of
the area was established at the Keystone Mine, which also had the
distinction of being taken over by the miners two year later in a
dispute over wages. The miners held the mine for three months until
enough money had been made to pay both their wages, as well as the wages
for local Indians who had been cutting wood for the mine.
In 1897, the post
office at the Keystone Mine closed. However, in the meantime, Joseph
Good had sold his store to a man named Samuel Yount, who established a
new post office in Goodsprings in 1899. He served as the postmaster from
that date until 1914.
In 1901, the Yellow
Pine Mining Company was formed, which consolidated ownership of most of
the area mines and built a mill. But, getting the ore
out of the area was a difficult job, as it had to be hauled by wagon to
distant shipping points. However, when the San Pedro, Los Angeles
& Salt Lake Railroad built a line through nearby Jean in 1905, the task
of moving the ore became much easier.
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The township was
officially platted in 1904, and gradually its tents and shacks were
replaced by more substantial buildings. With the coming of the railroad
to Jean, the Yellow Pine Mine then began to increase production and
built a narrow gage railroad from the remnants of the railroad line
which had served the Quartette Mine in Searchlight. Though the spur to Goodsprings would take several years to build, when it was complete in
1911, it hauled tons of ore from Yellow Pine's 100 ton mill and haul ore
to Jean. With transportation problems eased, the town really began to
grow.
George Arthur Fayle, an ore hauler from Calico, California, moved to
nearby Goodsprings Junction (later changed to Jean, for his wife) in
1904. With financial help from his uncle, Samuel Yount, who owned the
mercantile store in Goodsprings, Fayle established a tent store for
miners and an ore hauling businesses.
Later, he bought an interest in his uncle’s store in Goodsprings and the name was changed to the Yount
and Fayle Store. In 1912, Fayle moved his family to Goodsprings and
began to expand the business. In 1913, he built the still operating
Pioneer Saloon.
That same year, a permanent
school building was erected, which continues to stand. Now on the National
Register of Historic Places, it is the oldest school in Clark County that
was built and still used as a school.
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Pioneer Saloon back in Goddsprings' hey days,
photo
courtesy UNLV.
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The
Pioneer Saloon continues to serve customers today, Kathy Weiser, April,
2008.
This image available for
photographic prints
and downloads
HERE! |
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The community
prospered, reaching its peak population of about 1,000 people in
1915. The following year,
George Fayle, built the Fayle Hotel, the most luxurious hotel in the area,
providing for 20 guest rooms, electric lights,
hot and cold running water, steam heat, and a restaurant that boasted fine
dining. Advertised as the “finest hotel in the west,” it opened with a grand
ball on May 13, 1916, the hotel and
restaurant were initially so successful, Las Vegas residents would make a
trip to Goodsprings to enjoy the hospitality. However, Fayle’s uncle, Samuel
Yount, objected to the building of the hotel, predicting that it could not
survive. Unfortunately, Yount’s prediction would not only be correct, but
would also result in the end of their partnership. Unfortunately, the hotel
that was located about 100 years west of the Pioneer Saloon would eventually
be a financial failure and in 1966, the building burnt to the ground.
Continued Next
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The Fayle Hotel in 1917. Unfortunately it burned
down in 1966. |
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Join our
Ghost Town Forum
for information, questions, and Ghost Town experiences!
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Great American Bars and Saloons
 By
Kathy Weiser
Owner/Editor of Legends of America
Kathy Weiser's first venture into the publishing world takes you into the
many watering holes of America's past, particularly the numerous
saloons
that sprouted up during our nation's
Wild West
days. This great
photographic review displays hundreds of
vintage photographs from
California
to
Arizona, the mining camps of
Colorado, all the way to New
York and its turbulent days of
Prohibition.
Hardcover, 2006, 224 Pages.
Signed by the author!!
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