By Dennis McCaslin - Editor and Publisher
As an ardent fan of the old ""Death Valley Days" television series, one of the names I heard again and again tied to the great mining and banking interests in the state of Nevada was that of George Wingfield.
Little did I know of the man's connection to Fort Smith until I recently discovered Wingfield was part of a pioneering family who moved to western Arkansas in 1853.
In the early 20th century, the arid landscapes of Nevada were transformed by the glittering promise of gold and silver. Among the many who sought fortune in these boomtowns, one name stands out: George E. Wingfield.
Born on August 16, 1876, in Fort Smith , Wingfield’s journey from a humble cattleman to one of Nevada’s wealthiest and most influential figures is a tale of ambition, risk, and unparalleled success.
Wingfield was born to Thomas Yates Wingfield and his wife, the former Martha Matilda Spradling. George was the third of five children born to the couple.
His grandfather Edward Wingfield had moved his family (including his three sons, William, Thomas and Henry and their families) from Albemarle County, Virginia to Fort Smith in 1853, then moved to Missouri during the American Civil War.
The restless Wingfield's then moved back to Arkansas, and would move through Nevada, and to Oregon, only to finally settle in Arizona, where two of his sons had establised holdings . The patriarch of the family died in 1880 in Arizonia.
Meanwhile, Thomas Wingfield's family moved with his extended family to Oregon in 1881 when young George was five years old, and he would become a buckaroo on a ranch in Burns
Growing up on cattle ranches, Wingfield learned the value of hard work and perseverance. By the age of 16, he was already participating in cattle drives to Winnemucca, Nevada.
When the excitement at Tonopah surfaced, Wingfield left for the new camp in 1901. He played cards professionally, operated the Tonopah Club Saloon, purchased real estate, and bought and traded mining stocks.
Later, he began investing with Winnemucca banker George Nixon, who later became a U.S. Senator.
Wingfield’s most notable success came from his involvement in the mining industry.
Partnering with gambler John Hennessy and under the mentorship of Nixon, Wingfield invested in the booming mining towns of Tonopah and Goldfield, Nevada. His investments paid off handsomely, and he amassed a personal fortune estimated at $25 million ($854,728,260.87. in today's dollars. )
In 1906, they combined six of the latter’s richest mining companies into a single giant, the Goldfield Consolidated Mining Company. One of their backers was Bernard Baruch of New York. In 1909, the Wingfield-Nixon partnership was dissolved and George moved the banking and mining interests to Reno.
.In 1908 he rose to the social scene by marrying a San Francisco banker’s daughter, Maude Murdoch. In doing so he left behind a previous marriage to a woman known only as "May" who is conveniently left out of most biographies of the mining legend..
In 1912, he was offered Nixon's seat in the Senate but he refused; for the next 47 years he devoted himself to interests in Nevada.
In 1914, Wingfield organized the Reno Securities Company, which owned and operated hotels, ranches, and mines in the area. Among major mining investments were those in Aurora, Eureka County, Tonopah, Goldfield, Nye County, and Churchill County, Nevada.
Wingfield was adamantly anti-labor-union in his sentiments and acted to suppress the mining unions during the controversial Goldfield labor troubles of 1906 and 1907. He equated the I. W. W., radical anarchism, and continued throughout his life to thwart union organization in his mines.
From 1909 to 1932, Wingfield was a formidable force in Nevada’s economic and political landscape. His investments and financial ventures extended beyond mining, making him one of the state’s most powerful figures.
By 1932, Wingfield held controlling interest in twelve Nevada banks. When the Depression hit, his banks failed. In 1935, a former multi-millionaire, he filed for bankruptcy.
It was during this time he married for the third time, taking Roxy Thoma as his bride. Roxy was sixteen years young than Wingfield when they married.
A year later, an old friend needed help with an attractive gold mining prospect near Winnemucca. Wingfield went back to Bernard Baruch, who enlisted Newmont Mining Corporation. The Getchell Mine proved to be an outstanding producer, switching to tungsten in World War II.
By the end of the war, Wingfield had regained a portion of his wealth. He was said ti be forth $3-$4 million at the time of his death.
George E. Wingfield passed away on December 25, 1959, and was buried at the Masonic Memorial Gardens in Reno , Nevada. He. along with subsequent members of his family, was buried beneath a simple bronze headstone bearing his name and date of birth and death.
