By Robin Hebrock Pahrump Valley Times
January 3, 2025

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

 

March 13, 2024 – 6:48 am

Preserving history for generations to come while simultaneously boosting tourism – that’s the goal of Tonopah Main Street: Historical Storytelling, a project that’s using the digital age to promote all of the fascinating facts about the bygone days of Tonopah.

Last May, Tonopah Main Street received $52,400 through the Nye County American Rescue Plan Act grants program to fund the project and following many months of painstaking work, the various components are all starting to fall into place.

Providing an update on the project during the Nye County Commission’s March 5 meeting, Tonopah Main Street Executive Director Kat Galli said there are two official websites established, one specific to the Old Tonopah Cemetery and another highlighting the many points of interest around downtown Main Street. The group is now turning its attention to acquiring plaques that will be placed around town, which will direct people to the websites for further information.

“We have a lot of historical assets and also murals and monuments that have proven in the past to get these people, who are coming through our town anyway, to stop. The whole point is to get them to not stop for five minutes but to spend more time, because more time equals more money,” Galli told commissioners that morning.

“If they can wander our downtown – looking at all these structures, reading about what used to go on here, who possibly lived there, what business was there and then visit the business that is currently there – they are shopping, they are eating and before you know it… it’s getting dark and they are going to get themselves a hotel room,” she continued.

It’s not just about the buildings and artistic attractions that remain in Tonopah, either. The project also shines a spotlight on the Old Tonopah Cemetery, where numerous famed residents of the area are buried. It’s a location that Galli said is already quite popular and the website will undoubtedly increase interest as visitors are able to learn about the lives of those who rest in peace there.

“So hopefully these websites will generate money and not just in the next few years but, because the websites are going to exist forever… hopefully it will keep generating for decades to come,” she said.

Although currently live with lots of information, Galli emphasized that the websites are each a work in progress. Tonopah Main Street will be continually adding content as it is gathered and moving specific features around on the websites, to ensure the best user experience for both computer and mobile device users.

Galli made sure to add that websites have notations explaining that the project was developed using a grant from Nye County.

“We want to make sure everybody knows this was funded by the county and it’s very much appreciated because, quite honestly, this would have taken a lot of fundraising on our part to get to this. It would have been years and years and years down the road to be able to afford all of this, including the plaques that are coming,” Galli remarked.

She also touched on the fact that a bulk of the work that has gone into the Historical Storytelling project has been accomplished by those who, simply wanting what’s best for their community, offered their volunteer efforts.

“I appreciate them very much,” Galli said. “Especially my co-conspirator, Joni Eastley, she’s sitting in the audience and I can’t even tell you how many hours she’s spent volunteering for us, and not just on this project. So if you want good things in your community, step up and volunteer.”

To view the Historical Storytelling project websites visit HistoricTonopah.com and OldTonopahCemetery.com