A color postcard of Tonopah, Nevada. The front caption at the bottom reads: “General View of Tonopah, Nev.” The postcard was postmarked Tonopah, Nev July 9, 1911 and was sent by J.V. to Mrs. Lizzie Saxberg Bx 3176 Bisbee, Ariz Lowell Sta. The message on the back is written in a foreign language and needs to be translated. The postcard was published by the Newman Postcard Company, Los Angeles, California. Arvo & Davis Peltola Collection.

Tonopah, Nevada began with Jim Butler a prospector who discovered silver ore in the area while looking for a lost burro in 1900. The Boston-Tonopah Mining Company, Tonopah Extension Mining Company and the West End Consolidated Mines Company were formed. Silver was mined in Tonopah from 1900 to 1947. End the end an estimated five million tons of silver ore were mined generating $150,000,000 in profits. Despite the collapse of mining, the town today maintains a population of over 2,000. In 2014, Solar Reserve company built the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project at the cost of nearly a billion dollars. Tonopah was a Shoshone word meaning “hidden spring”, though in the early days the town was often called Butler City. The town’s mining history is open to visitors at the Tonopah Historic Mining Park.

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