CAC Benevolent Fund

Saturday Night Slam

Beatty, Nevada Turns 100

Beatty, Nevada will turn 100 years old this October. The small, quaint town just east of Rhyolite, Death Valley National Park and the California border continues to thrive despite a small population. Its major industries are three casinos and hotels that cater to the traveler on Highway 95. You are never a stranger more than once in Beatty … they like people!!!!!!

Here are some known facts about Beatty....

If Beatty had an official town animal, it would have to be the burro. During the gold rush era in the 1800s, prospectors came to the Amargosa Valley with their belongings on the backs of sturdy burros (usually one burro to a miner). Realizing that the gold fields of California were far away, they hiked over the mountains, leaving their burros behind. The little pack animals thrived in the desert, breeding thousands of descendants. By 1950, there were so many herds of wild burros around Beatty and in Death Valley that a program to export burros was begun, and it continues today. However, you'll still see plenty of burros grazing in the desert, paying no attention to highway traffic.

Beatty was the railroad service center for the Bullfrog Mining District. Nearby Rhyolite, the mining camp, was a booming town of 10,000. Today, Rhyolite is a ghost town (although a new gold mine and mill operate near the old town site), and Beatty is a casual highway stopping point for travelers to Death Valley. Rhyolite is worth the short drive south of town. The wind has knocked down many of the buildings on the old mining town's main street, and only a few walls remain. The mission-style railroad station still stands, as does a bottle house that was constructed with 50,000 liquor and beer bottles by a miner, Tom Kelly. Some of the features of the old town are to be restored by the Friends of Rhyolite, a nonprofit society recently formed. The bottle house is high on their list of priorities.

With six campgrounds and RV parks, Beatty provides a cooler place to camp than Death Valley during summer months. There are also several motels, as well as casinos, bars, and cafes. One campground is at Bailey's Hot Springs, located six miles north of Beatty on U.S. 95. The hot springs resort has a picnic area and offers swimming in addition to providing campsites for overnight visitors.

The highway drive to Death Valley (via Highway 374) passes through Daylight Pass. Travelers during the winter season -- October to June -- may wish to take the Titus Canyon back road, an extremely scenic one-way route that crosses the Amargosa Range and reaches Death Valley to connect with the road to Scotty's Castle, near the north end of the valley. Ubehebe Crater is also in this northern area.

Southwest of Beatty are the Amargosa Dunes, huge hills of sand open to the public for hiking, off-road driving, and picnicking. Conventional vehicles (even 4WD vehicles) are not suitable for driving on the dunes: ATVs or dune buggies are required. The dunes are just a small part of what constitutes the Amargosa Desert, a vast tract that lies in the valley of the old Amargosa River. The river is now a series of dry washes. Many back roads lead through Bureau of Land Management lands.

Beatty also has the largest Packard dealership in the world at the south end of its city limits. The Exchange Club at the corner of Hwy 374 and U.S. Hwy 95 is in the original building dedicated almost 100 years ago. It is one of the primary spots where you can gather gossip and share great meals with locals.

Beatty Museum on the road to Rhyolite is filled with artifacts, pictures and items from some of the desert towns that surround the area. The Burro Inn is also another great place to eat, gamble and stay.

If you're ever in Las Vegas and want an exciting day trip to relive history, Beatty is the place to go to. It is just two hours north, and there is just so much to see and do in the area. Scotty's castle is only another hour away, and numerous ghost towns scatter the desert floor within a short distance of Beatty.

HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY !!!!!!!!

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers
2004 CAC Honoree