Honoring history and heritage in Tonopah

The last several months have been very busy for Tonopah Main Street and the town of Tonopah as the two entities worked in tandem to create a new park that celebrates the rich and deep history of this rural Nevada town.

Given the name of Heritage Park, the park has transformed a formerly vacant sliver of land adjacent to the Belvada Hotel into a welcoming area in which to relax and enjoy the old-timey atmosphere. Amid the antique mining items and colorful murals, a little lending library offers reading opportunities and there are even outdoor games, such as a large version of Connect 4, available for play. A quick jaunt up a set of steps leads to a dog park, too, giving pet parents a convenient place to let their canines do their business.

“We are gathered today to dedicate Heritage Park to the memory of all those who transformed a barren desert into the town of Tonopah,” Tonopah Main Street Board Chair Joni Eastley told the crowd that had assembled for the grand opening ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 11. “Driven by dreams of a better life, the allure of quick riches and a thirst for adventure, people from across the globe came together to create something enduring from mere rock, sagebrush and wind, and called it Tonopah. Some left their families behind while others packed up their loved ones with their trunks and brought them along to help build this legacy. Relatives of some of those people are with us today. It is to the creators of all of our yesterdays and the dreamers of our future that we make this dedication.”

Heritage Park got its start through a $43,000 grant from the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development’s Nevada Main Street Program, which Tonopah Main Street Executive Director Kat Galli was key in securing. The town acquired the property and contributed $20,000 in funding, along with many hours of labor by town staff.

But it wasn’t just these two entities responsible for the beautiful new town amenity. Many other partners chipped in to create Heritage Park and Eastley made sure to highlight each of them.

“Visionaries Fred and Nancy Klein, steadfast supporters of the town, generously permitted the use of their portion of this lot and allowed the Dave Stamey mural to be placed on the side of their building,” Eastley detailed. “A significant number of materials, equipment and labor were all provided free of charge by Stretch Baker. He was assisted by Joe Maloney in a portion of that work. Stretch was also invaluable when it came to necessary last-minute design changes and made sure everything met Tonopah Main Street’s design plan.”

Clair Concrete out of Bishop, Calif. also earned kudos for donating a majority of the cement needed for the project, as well as the stamping, coloring and sealing of that concrete. The Galli family put in many long hours at Heritage Park, along with the new dog park located just above it, and John Campbell of Great Basin Industries was thanked for allowing Tonopah Main Street to select some early-day Tonopah relics from his “boneyard”, which are displayed at the park. Weed-block and decorative rock was donated by M&K Industries and Bobby Jean Roberts contributed a large box of books to fit out the lending library.

“Because public art is one of the primary goals of Tonopah Main Street as well as a major component of this project, we can’t leave today without acknowledging the outstanding work done by our muralists, Bob Dewhurst of Sign Language, who painted the Dave Stamey Mural, and Adam Skiles, who also designed and created some of the monuments you see around town. We believe that signage can also be an element of art, so we used Wade Barton of Sign City in Hawthorne to design and create all the signs and the vinyl wraps on the generator behind me,” Eastley enthused. “These three cultural ambassadors, each employing their own styles, conveyed through art the deep feeling we have for our community. And we must mention singer Dave Stamey, who wrote the outstanding Tonopah Song and thank him for allowing us to reproduce his lyrics on the mural.”

With the grant funding, town funding, donations and volunteer hours all tabulated, the total value that went into constructing Heritage Park came to $125,000.

Heritage Park is located at 107 S. Main Street.

For more information on Tonopah Main Street and its downtown improvement programs, visit TonopahMainStreet.com

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com