GOODSPRINGS, Nev. (KTNV) — To learn more about Nevada's rich history...you only have to drive about 38 miles south of Las Vegas to the old mining town of Goodsprings.
Now, while the town has been around since 1900... there's a new face greeting visitors. We took a drive to Goodsprings to learn more about the Historical Society's efforts to get help for its newest neighbors.
Griffin Jones and his family came to the area after learning about the town on Instagram.
"I saw a video of a person who had come here...[the miner statue] is cool, it fits for the area it is in," he said.
The old miner now sits outside of one of the oldest saloons in Nevada, in a town full of history—from the 1890s cemetery, buildings from the early 1900s and even the oldest operating school in Southern Nevada.
Prospectors moved to Goodsprings for minerals like lead, copper, and even gold.
Steve Fleming from the Goodsprings Hisotrical Society says recently this prospector and another moved here.
The pair of statues were once outside the Lucky Strike Club on Fremont, then placed near the Hoover Dam, and most recently, outside the once-Gold-Strike-turned-Terrible's in Jean. With the Terrible's Hotel now being demolished for new warehouses, the owner donated them to Goodsprings.
"They are 70 years old and need repair, I would encourage anybody out there who has expertise in fiberglass expertise we could use some help," Fleming said.
The other miner has not been placed yet as Fleming hopes to get it fixed up, but they also want help naming the two statues.
"If someone has a name suggestion we have a web site," Fleming told us.
His mom was born in Goodsprings 105 years ago back in 1919. His family members were prospectors too, he hopes the new ones in town help more people understand Goodspring's rich history.
Fleming ended with a lasting thought. "I think history is so important, we learn a lot from history."
