Beatty
Though Paiute natives had long taken advantage of available water in Oasis Valley, white settlers first arrived in this area in 1870. Among them was a man named Landers, who built a small ranch and operated it into the 1890s. In 1896, Union veteran Montillus Murray "Jim" Beatty arrived and took up residence in the old ranch house. Soon Beatty's ranch became a stopping point for travelers.
After the August 1904 discoveries of gold at Bullfrog, a rush to the area ensued and in November a new townsite named for Beatty was laid out by Bob Montgomery. Though Beatty had no mines itself, it was an important supply point for the surrounding camps, and in 1905 the town grew to include a post office and numerous business, including the $25,000 Montgomery Hotel built by Bob Montgomery. By the end of 1907, the population climbed to 1000 and three railroads arrived in town.
Though activity in the Bullfrog district languished late in the decade, Beatty continued to thrive as a freighting center for other camps in the region. The Montgomery Hotel was moved to nearby Pioneer in 1908, but burned the following year. Two railroads continued to serve the town for a few decades; the Bullfrog Goldfield uplifted its rails in 1928, followed by the Tonopah & Tidewater in 1940. A 100-ton mill was built by the United States Milling Company in 1938 to treat ore from Rhyolite, but World War II shuttered that facility. Nevertheless, the town of several hundred has continued to hold on as a stop for travelers along Highway 95, and today serves as Nevada's gateway to Death Valley National Park.
