ABOUT THIS BOOK

Deep in the desolate Mojave Desert in Nevada’s extreme southern tip lies a small mining town called Searchlight. This meticulously researched book by Searchlight’s most distinguished native son recounts the colorful history of the town and the lives of the hardy people who built it and sustained a community in one of the least hospitable environments in the United States. Its story encompasses both Nevada’s early twentieth-century mining boom and the phenomenal growth of southern Nevada after World War II. Searchlight is a valuable contribution to the history of Nevada and a lively account of life in the forbidding depths of the Mojave Desert.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Harry Reid was born in Searchlight to a local mining family. He has represented Nevada in Congress for more than two decades. He became Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate in 2004.

REVIEWS

“People who think history is dry and boring will receive a lesson to the contrary with Harry Reid’s loving tribute to his hometown, Searchlight, Nevada. --Bisbee (Ariz.) Pay Dirt “Reid has written of an era in Nevada history that has not been fully touched on prior to this, and his book covers an important segment of the history of the West. --Journal of the West “Senator Reid’s narrative of the rise and fall of Searchlight . . . adds grist to the mill of historians engaged in studying the developmental phases of several Nevada mining camps. . . . The book is a good read and an important document on Nevada’s recent history. --International California Mining Journal

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Foreword

Mike O'Callaghan, Former Governor

Preface

Introduction

Hulse, James W.

1:
The Beginning

2:
Money from Massachusetts

3:
The Camp That Didn't Fail

4:
Why Searchlight?

5:
The Big Strike

6:
The Big Mine

7:
The Coming of the Railroad

8:
A Fashionable Town

9:
Newspapers

10:
Even a Bank

11:
Boomed Out

12:
Other Camps

13:
Cattle and Crops

14:
Commercial Competition

15:
Politics

16:
Schools

17:
Crime and Punishment, or the Lack Thereof

18:
Accidents

19:
Weather

20:
Academy Award Champion

21:
How Big Was It?

22:
Flying High and Flying Low

23:
The Camp Wouldn't Fail

24:
The Renegade Indian

25:
Searchlight Survived the War

26:
The Promoter

27:
The World's Oldest Profession

28:
Conclusion

Appendix I:
Mineral Production of the Searchlight District, 1902–1962

Appendix 2:
Climatological Data

2.1
Total Precipitation (inches) for Searchlight, 1949–1993

2.2
Average Temperature (Fahrenheit) for Searchlight, 1949–1993

2.3
Searchlight Climatological Summary

Appendix 3:
Postmasters, Searchlight, Clark County, Nevada (since 1926)

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

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