The mythology of the Old West is filled with ghosts and ghost towns. Towns sprang up, literally overnight, as gold veins were discovered close by, then were deserted as the ore dwindled or richer veins beckoned settlers onward to a more promising horizon. Fallon, too, seemingly sprang up overnight, and nearby mining strikes kept the town hopping in the early years, but rather than fade from view, the town persisted and grew, thanks in part to the Newlands Project, but also thanks to an almost inexplicable business growth, even during rough times, and a local optimism and hardiness that still characterizes our community.
To unpack this thought, I turned to an article that I wrote for the 1995-96 edition of In Focus, titled “1906: The Way We Were.” If you have read any of my previous “Postcards” you know that I like to pour through old newspapers, and for the 1906 article, I did just that in hopes of gaining insight into what made the town successfully tick at such an early time in its history. All the makings of a bust economy were in place, yet the town boomed. Why?
What do I call markings a bust economy? For one, there was a heavy reliance on a mining economy. New mines were discovered in Churchill County at Fairview, Wonder, Eastgate, Sand Springs and a myriad of other locations with names like Shady Run, Conte Cristo, and Hercules. Tent cities arose from the barren ground, soon to become ghost towns when hopes were exhausted. Yet, Fallon businessmen were savvy enough to promote Fallon as the stable source of goods. Burchell Brothers Hardware store in Fallon advertised in bold letters: “MR, PROSPECTOR: before going to Sand Springs or Fairview call and see us. We sell picks, shovels and all kinds of camp equipment for your trip.” Another hallmark of a bust economy is the proliferation of saloons, profitable in the exhilaration of gold or silver fever, but subject to sudden bankruptcy when the fever abated. Early Fallon, indeed, experienced that phenomenon. In 1906, seven Saloons advertised in the Standard: The Barrel House, The River Saloon, the Palm Saloon, the Richelieu Saloon, the Reception Saloon, the Palace Saloon and Club Rooms, and the Assembly. That number never decreased although the names were changed, indicating that the barroom clientele was more diversified than it was in the typical boom/bust scenario.
The real clue to why Fallon didn’t “bust” can be found in a comment made by W.C. Black, the editor of the Standard, in March 1906. He had personally undertaken a door-to-door survey to ascertain the population of the community (within the town limits) and while his unofficial head count was 398, he maintained that the town seemed much livelier than the numbers would suggest. “…our little town liberally supports two newspapers, five doctors, two dentists, three lawyers, two banks, three general merchandisers, one dry goods store, and other business attributes that usually go to make up a town several times our size.” It seems that Fallon had taken on a sustainable life of its own before it could fail due to temporary booms. In addition, many of the establishments mentioned by Black invested early on in permanent structures, which fly in the face of any overnight abandonment. In 1906, stone buildings were under construction to house a commercial bank, a lodging house, and a brewing company. Bids went out for a brick-and-mortar high school and a stone Baptist Church. Maine Street was surveyed for the installation of cement sidewalks. Electricity and water were put in place.
The ghosts would have to find a different town.
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