Tonopah Mining Park

Tonopah Mining Park. Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

Inside a Tonopah Mining Park building. Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

Mining equipment at Tonopah Mining Park. Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

Mine cart tracks at Tonopah Mining Park. Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

Overlooking Tonopah from the mining park. Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

A mine at Tonopah Mining Park. Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

Mining tools at Tonopah Mining Park. Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

Mine shaft at Tonopah Mining Park. Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

A horse drawn ore wagon. Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

Tonopah Mining Park Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

Inside a Tonopah Mining Park building. Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

Louchebonvivant (Atlas Obscura User)

Tonopah Liquor Company. This rare key tag was from the Tonopah Liquor Company. The building is still standing. Circa 1906. Jon Aurich collection. Florence Mine (Atlas Obscura User)

The Belmont Mine. This famous mine was the scene of a terrible mining accident. In 1911, the working of this mine caught fire and 17 miners died. Tag Circa 1905. Florence Mine (Atlas Obscura User)

This original photograph shows the famous Montana Mine in its prime. Jon Aurich Collection. Florence Mine (Atlas Obscura User)

Tonopah Mining Park Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

Big Operators. These are signatures of men that controlled rich mines of Tonopah and Goldfield. Jon Aurich collection. Florence Mine (Atlas Obscura User)

Mining equipment at Tonopah Mining Park. Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

Inside a mining building. Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

Tonopah Mining Park. Dylan Thuras (Creative Commons)

The story goes that in 1900, miner Jim Butler was angrily chasing a runaway donkey, picked up a rock to throw at the animal, found it surprisingly heavy, and realized he had stumbled upon a wealth of untapped silver ore.

Putting the “rush” in silver rush, Butler quickly filed claims on the land, leased it by the foot (the deals were sealed with a handshake), and started the silver boom that put Tonopah on the map.

In the following years miners flooded in, and the mining park was sold and divided between a number of investors. The silver rush declined after a couple decades, but the town took pride in its mines and preserved them for posterity. The total sum of precious metal mined at the Tonopah Mining Park is valued at more than a billion dollars in modern currency.

Today, the mining park is an interactive outdoor museum. Visitors have free reign over most of the park. They can explore all the buildings, the mine shafts, and much of the original equipment that pioneered mining technology. There are also occasional events at the mining park, including historically accurate mining competitions and blacksmithing classes.