Searchlight
"DSC_4736" by yankee artillerist is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Searchlight Cemetery. Established in 1906.
Maps Data: Imagery ©2022 Maxar Technologies, U.S. Geological Survey, USDA Farm Service Agnecy, Map data ©2022.
BV Motel. Built in 1942. Located at 115 Gaviland Street, Searchlight, Nevada.
El Rey Motel. Built in 1958. Located at 430 US-95, Searchlight, Nevada.
Previously operated as Sandy's Club when Warren and Verlie Doing purchased the club in 1967. The Doings opened Searchlight Nugget Casino in 1979. Closed in 2015. Currently operates as a Terrible's Roadhouse. Located at 100 US-95, Searchlight, Nevada.
"2" by billy kerr is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
"Initial discoveries of predominately gold ore were first made at this location on May 6, 1897. G.F. Colton filed the first claim, later to become the Duplex Mine. The Quartette Mining Company, formed in 1900, became the mainstay of the Searchlight district, producing almost half of the area’s total output. In May 1902, a 16 mile narrow-gauge railroad was built down the hill to the company’s mill on the Colorado River.
On March 31, 1907, the 23.22 mile Barnwell and Searchlight Railroad connected the town with the then main Santa Fe line from Needles to Mojave. By 1919 trains travelled over the B. and S. Railroad only twice a week. A severe washout on September 23, 1923, halted traffic completely. Train service was never restored.
Searchlight is the birthplace of U.S. Senator Harry Reid (b.1939) who became the first Nevadan to serve as the Senate Majority Leader, a position he assumed in 2007."
(Nevada Historical Marker 116)
"Gold was discovered near here in 1897. In July 1898, the Searchlight Mining District was organized and in October the post office opened. The boom peaked in 1907 and quickly faded along with the town. But the town never died, instead becoming the home of such luminaries as Edith Head, John MacReady, Rex Bell, Clara Bow, and William Nellis. We dedicate this plaque to Searchlight's pioneer redshirted miners."
(Queho Posse Chapter 1919 E Clampus Vitus)
"George Frederick Colton can be considered to be the father of Searchlight. The Searchlight claim made on May 6, 1897 was the earliest claim of importance in what became the Searchlight Mining District. He is also credited with providing the name of the new district. It was either taken from a popular brand of matches, or a reference to the need for a searchlight to find the gold in this region. Colton's Searchlight Claim, New Years Gift Claim later became the Duplex Mine. The Duplex Mine was one of the important mines in the area, along with the larger Quartette Mine. Colton often leased the Duplex to others to work, but he never gave up ownership. The mine continues today in family ownership."
(Queho Posse Chapter 1919 E Clampus Vitus)
On 3 Aug 1970 a Navy P-3A Orion crashed near Searchlight, Nevada with the loss of all ten crewmen.