Between 1900 and 1920 Nevada experienced a tremendous resurgence of mining activity comparable only to the Great Comstock era of the previous century. The result was the rejuvenation of the State's political and economic strength, as well as renewed national attention. This period witnessed the birth of dozens of mining camps and towns throughout central Nevada. Goldfield was one such camp, and by 1906, it had become the regional and national center of attention of Nevada's twentieth century mining boom.

Goldfield's pattern of development, from discovery, to boom, to decline, was not unlike the cycles undergone by most other mining camps. However, the intensity to which Goldfield was exploited, the magnitude of wealth generated, scale of the town's development, and its resounding economic and political impacts make it exemplary of the history of Nevada during the twentieth century.

The Goldfield Historic District encompasses an area of roughly thirty-five city blocks with approximately 120 buildings constructed almost entirely between 1904 and 1909, the period of Goldfield's initial boom.

At the peak of its development in 1907 Goldfield boasted a population exceeding 20,000 persons, and a fully developed townsite containing thousands of structures. Today Goldfield presents a completely different urban appearance, primarily as the result of a disastrous fire in 1923 which destroyed 53 blocks of the town including most of the commercial area. Despite this loss, most of the remaining historic structures date from the boom period