To Jim Butler, district attorney of the County, goes the credit for making the ore discovery which ended the twenty-year slump in Nevada's economy. Migratory Indian bands originally applied the name Tonopah to a small spring in the nearby San Antonio Mountains, long before Butler camped in the area in May of 1900. Tonopah became the richest silver producer in the nation and replaced Belmont as county seat in 1905. The mines spawned a railroad, several huge mills and a bustling population of approximately 10,000.

The mines faltered in the 'twenties,' but Tonopah has achieved permanent fame because of the prominent financial and political leaders it produced. Many camps and communities followed in the wake of Tonopah's boom, most of which have become ghost towns.