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They say the population of Nipton was 35. Now that we are official residents it is 37, at least until August when this commitment is up.
Nipton town site is at a crossroads about equal distance, 1-day horse-drawn-wagon travel (about 20 miles), from Searchlight, NV, Barnwell, CA (Manuel Mine), and Old Ivenpah, CA (Collosseum Mine). It seems that a community evolved out of an overnight stop for wagoneers as early as 1870's. The actual town of Nipton was born on February 9, 1905 with the arrival of the first train on the newly constructed San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad. It was originally called Nippeno Camp after a nearby gold discovery. The name was changed when the above railroad merged with the Union Pacific around 1910. For many years the depot was a cattle-loading station for several large ranches in the area. The depot was also used to bring in supplies for the numerous gold mines that were in the area. There were operational mines in the area up until the late 1970's. Hotel Nipton, still operating now as a Bed & Breakfast, was built between 1904 and 1910 originally as a 3-bedroom hotel. The hotel was reconstructed to a 5-bedroom facility after a fire in the early 1920's. The present owner Gerrald Freeman, who purchased the hotel and the entire town in 1984, again renovated the hotel in 1986. We will be helping with the day to day operations and during our time off we will be exploring the area and getting to know the other 35 residents, some of whom have lived in the town for over 10 years. The other night we visited one of the old gold mines. At least it was one of the attempts at a gold mine. It is near a now very gone town that several of the miners lived in and we are told that Virgil Earp (Wyatt's brother) owned a bar in the town. Here is an idea of remote. The closest Wal-Mart...60 miles..., but that ain't all bad. It is in Las Vegas. Barstow, CA is 60 miles in the other direction Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Welcome To Nipton, CA. in RV Travel is owned by . Permission to republish Welcome To Nipton, CA. in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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