Nye-Clark County NV Archives Obituaries.....BUTLER, James J. January 22, 1923 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nv/nvfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Gerry Perry missgerry@cox.net March 5, 2005, 11:12 pm Las Vegas Age - 1/27/1923 "FATHER OF TONOPAH" DIES IN SACRAMENTO James J. BUTLER, known as the "Father of Tonopah," died at his home in Sacramento last Monday evening. He was sixty-seven years of age and was born in Inyo county, California. He had spent several years as a prospector and was on his way to Klondyke, a mining camp about fourteen miles south of the present site of Tonopah, when he accidentally made the discovery which made Tonopah famous as a silver camp. He and his wife camped on what is now known as the property of the Tonopah Mining company. In the morning he lost one of his mules and in searching for it, he knocked off from an outcropping a piece of rich ore. After finding his mule he went on to Klondyke, where he gave the samples to an assayer who evidently did not think much of them as he threw them out of the window. He also gave a piece of the ore to Taskor Loddie [Oddie], our United States senator who was then living at Austin, who sent the sample home to have it assayed with the result that Tonopah came into being. BUTLER, his wife and Tasker LODDIE [Oddie]became partners in the Mizpah claims. Individually he was interested in other properties and when he left the camp he was supposed to be worth a million dollars. He and his wife lived for a time on a ranch in the Owens River valley and in 1921 moved to Sacramento where Mrs. BUTLER died about six months ago. They have one son, Frank, who survives them. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nv/nye/obits/gob570butler.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/nvfiles/ File size: 2.0 Kb