 In 1869, the Piute Company of California and Nevada - established
by a group of San Francisco investors - found significant deposits of silver ore in California, near the Nevada line. A settlement
was established named Ivanpah (which translates as "clear water" from a local Indian dialect).
By 1871, Ivanpah
had several adobe buildings, a hotel, two stores, Piute Company headquarters and several residences.
By 1879, Ivanpah
was vibrant, but ore was losing its value. By 1880, it was clear Ivanpah was declining, and, by 1882, the town had almost
declined to ghost town status. By the end of the 1880s, Ivanpah was non-functional.
GOODSPRINGS
In the 1860s, silver was also discovered around the area that became
known as Goodsprings (named in 1886 after Joseph Good, a cattleman in the region). Goodsprings became a central town for milling
from the surrounding mines. The ore was transported by wagon to Jean, and then put on trains.
In 1892, the Keystone
gold mine was established, and Goodsprings grew to around 200 people. By the 1920s, the population had dipped, but there was the
luxurious, 20-room Fayle Hotel that drew Las Vegas residents on Sunday afternoons for food and car races on the dry lake beds.
The stamped-metal Pioneer Saloon, built in 1913, is open for business today at the edge of Goodsprings. The new owner says
he wants to preserve the saloon because of its uniqueness in the region.
JEAN
Seven miles east of Goodsprings, in Jean, Pop's Oasis casino was the first casino to open in the town. It closed
in 1988.
Two other casinos, Nevada Landing and Gold Strike, were also built - Gold Strike, owned by MGM Mirage, is in
operation today; Nevada Landing, also a MGM Mirage property, closed down in April, 2007. MGM Mirage, with two Las Vegas-based
developers - American Nevada Holdings and Cloobeck Companies - are planning to develop 166 acres into a master-planned community
possibly featuring condos, singly-family homes, apartments, businesses, shops and at least one new hotel-casino.
PRIMM
Eleven miles south of Jean - right
at the border with California - is Primm. Primm (formerly known as Stateline) is recognized by tourists as having
three casinos. Whiskey Pete's was the first modern casino in Primm. Then came Buffalo Bill's and Primm Valley Resort.
MGM Mirage bought the Primm properties from the Primm family in 1977.
On November 1, 2006, MGM Mirage and Herbst Gaming,
Inc., announced Herbst would be buying Primm's three casinos (known collectively as "Primm Valley Resorts").
Included in the sale, which closed escrow in the second quarter of 2007, were three gas stations and a convenience store (barely
across the Nevada-California border) that is popular for selling California Lottery tickets.
IVANPAH AIRPORT
The proposed Ivanpah Airport will cover 6,500
acres between Jean and Primm, adjacent to Interstate 15. Ivanpah Airport is scheduled to be operational around 2018.
At the end of the Environmental Impact Statement process currently being conducted, if Ivanpah Valley Airport is approved
for construction, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will transfer to Southern Nevada authorities an additional 17,000 acres
for a noise compatability area around the new airport.
To learn more about Goodsprings, Nevada, the location of Pioneer Saloon, click here.
|
| CLARK GABLE stayed at the Pioneer Saloon for three days, obtaining details of the plane crash. |
|
| CAROLE LOMBARD died in a plane crash in 1942, just a few miles from Pioneer Saloon. |
|
| After his wife's death, inconsolate, CLARK GABLE joined the U.S. Army Air Forces. |
|
