How can I learn more about the history of Tonopah?

Tonopah may be a small, rural community in the middle of Nevada’s high desert but it’s well worth the trip for history buffs or anyone interested in the long-gone days of 1900s mining and the Old West.

This historical value is something that Tonopah Main Street is working to leverage. In mid-2023, the organization was allotted $52,400 from Nye County’s American Rescue Plan Act grants program to launch its Historical Storytelling project, aimed at shining the spotlight on many intriguing points of interest throughout the town.

In December, Tonopah Main Street Executive Director Kat Galli provided the Nye County Commission with an update on the progress of that project, which she said is bearing wonderful results.

“I really appreciate what we can do for our community through this funding,” Galli enthused to commissioners. “This is a huge deal for historic preservation.”

Utilizing sources such as the Nye County Clerk’s Office, the Nye County Recorder’s Office, Central Nevada Museum and more, Tonopah Main Street has been piecing together the various bits of fact that have been unearthed about those whose final resting place is the Old Tonopah Cemetery, along with the many historical buildings, murals and monuments that can be found in the area.

As of the Dec. 3 meeting, the project had incorporated 19 different building, murals and monuments, as well 26 people in the old Tonopah Cemetery, information about which has now been added to the two websites dedicated to the project. A further list of 600 people buried in the cemetery has been identified by Tonopah Main Street board member Joni Eastley, who is working closely on the project.

“We were asked by members of the public, ‘How do you find all this information?’ And it’s not like you just go to one place and pull it all and then put it on the website,” Galli remarked. “Sometimes, in order to put one sentence together on a person or a building, it takes weeks of digging through historic records.”

Putting a personal spin on the project, Galli explained that Eastley’s research had revealed that one of the county’s own employees had family members at the Old Tonopah Cemetery, something they had been unaware of.

“Timaree Koscik at the Senior Nutrition Office, Joni found that her great-grandmother and great-uncle are buried in the old cemetery together. They passed within a month of each other,” Galli detailed. “The family visited the grave over Thanksgiving and they were very moved, they didn’t even know they were buried there.”

Galli also took a minute to talk about the voluntary aspect of the Historical Storytelling project.

“One thing that I found very inspiring was, we had two teenage girls reach out to us who wanted to… volunteer and they felt the cemetery could use some clean-up,” Galli remarked.

Included with the presentation were before-and-after photos showing the results of the work those young ladies had done on the graves.

“It’s just inspiring to see youth stepping up just out of a desire to do something for the community and wanting to honor that history,” Galli noted. “We’re very excited to have volunteers stepping up. As a reminder for those who don’t know, Tonopah Main Street is a volunteer organization and our board members, which include Joni, are all nonpaid and are doing this to make a difference in their community.”

As her presentation drew to a close, Galli had one more piece of exciting news to share with the board. Currently, Tonopah Main Street is at the affiliate level with the Main Street Nation, but with the Historical Storytelling project under its belt, she is confident that the organization will be able to reach accreditation in the spring.

“When we achieve that accreditation next year, you are all part of it,” Galli concluded.

Readers can learn more about the people and places captured in the Historical Storytelling project by visiting OldTonopahCemetery.com and HistoricTonopah.com

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com