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There was a time when Goldfield, Nevada, was known around the world as a city growing in the desert, seemingly out of nowhere, with no natural resources except for the extremely rich and plentiful mineral found in the ground--gold! In England, they were afraid the amount of gold mined in Goldfield would flood the market, making gold worthless. In Germany, gold seekers heard of the riches and made their way to the remote desert site. Those that had gone to Alaska for the great Klondike rush were now headed to Nevada. Goldfield was the last great gold rush on the American frontier. Discovered in 1902, its boom lasted about a decade and then came the inevitable and fateful decline. Yet its story is largely unknown. Nevada historians and scholars have documented Goldfield for years; others have amassed vast collections of ephemera, artifacts, and photographs; and some have even collected and restored the town's most impressive buildings. Through personal photo albums and accounts of those who were there, this book reflects life in Goldfield, Nevada, the last great American gold rush.

In the late 1800s, the area now known as Sparks consisted of ranches and farms. It was not until the early 1900s that Sparks would become the sixth-largest city in Nevada, almost overnight. E.H. Harriman moved the Salt Lake Division of the Southern Pacific Railroad from Wadsworth to swampland four miles east of Reno, and that area would become Sparks. The railroad was the largest and most reliable employer for 54 years, before leaving in 1957. Some railroad employees were transferred and reassigned to jobs outside of Sparks, but many chose to stay. Employment was found in Nevada's thriving hospitality industry, including John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino. Sparks became a major distribution center for national companies like S.S. Kresge and Pacific Freeport, and many manufacturing companies opened after Nevada passed the right-to-work law in 1951. Sparks is now the fifth-largest city in Nevada.

Laughlin, Nevada, today's most dynamic town on the Lower Colorado River, is a relatively new community. In 1966, when founder Don Laughlin opened his casino, only a dozen or so people resided there. Ten years later, when an election christened the town "Laughlin," there were 82 registered voters. It was only in the 1980s that the town exploded. However, the larger tristate area of which Laughlin is a part--where Nevada, Arizona, and California meet--is a much older, historically important community. It goes back to Native Americans who claim origin at the beginning of time at Spirit Mountain, on Laughlin's border. And it continues through a montage of characters from the Old West--explorers, Indian warriors, soldiers, riverboat captains, miners, cattlemen, dam constructors, and entrepreneurs--leading to the Laughlin of today, a destination gaming site, recreation mecca, and upscale retirement and snowbird community.