University of Nevada, Reno Cultural Landscape Development and Tourism in Historic Mining Towns of the Western United States A Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geography By Alison L. Hotten Dr. Gary J. Hausladen/Thesis Advisor May, 2011 © Copyrighted by Alison L. Hotten 2011 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE SCHOOL We recommend that the thesis prepared under our supervision by ALISON L. HOTTEN entitled Cultural Landscape Development And Tourism In Historic Mining Towns Of The Western United States be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Gary J. Hausladen, Ph.D., Advisor Paul F. Starrs, Ph.D., Committee Member Alicia Barber, Ph.D., Graduate School Representative Marsha H. Read, Ph. D., Associate Dean, Graduate School May, 2011 i Abstract This thesis examines the development of the cultural landscape of western mining towns following the transition from an economy based on mining to one based on tourism. The primary case studies are Bodie, California, Virginia City, Nevada, and Cripple Creek, Colorado. Each one is an example of highly successful tourism that has developed in a historic mining town, as well as illustrating changes in the cultural landscape related to this tourism. The main themes that these three case studies represent, respectively, are the ghost town, the standard western tourist attraction, and the gambling mecca. The development of the landscape for tourism is not just commercial, but relates to the preservation of history and authenticity in the landscape; each town was designated as a Historic District in 1961. An important part of this research is the role of popular culture and the mythic West and how these concepts have influenced the physical and cultural landscape of the mining town. All of the case examples are affected, to a certain extent, by general ideas about the nature of a western mining town, as well as popular knowledge specific to the site. ii Table of Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Methodology and Literature Review 17 3 Historic Designation and Authenticity 26 4 The Historic Landscape of the Mining Town 39 5 Bodie: Landscape as a Museum Display 55 6 Virginia City: The Commercialized Historic District 72 7 Cripple Creek: Gaming Tourism in the Historic District 87 8 Conclusion 107 Bibliography 112 iii List of Figures 1.1 Cripple Creek, Colorado, town entrance 1 1.2 Headstone for Wyatt Earp in Virginia City, Nevada 3 1.3 Regional map of Western United States 5 3.1 National Register criteria for evaluation 32 4.1 Detail of 1890 Sanborn map for Virginia City, Nevada 43 4.2 Detail of 1908 Sanborn map for Cripple Creek, Colorado 44 4.3 Cast iron pillars in facades, Virginia City, Nevada 45 4.4 A false-fronted building, Virginia City, Nevada 46 4.5 The Standard stamp mill in Bodie, California 49 5.1 Arranged kitchen in Bodie State Historic Park 55 5.2 Timeline of Bodie history and population 56 5.3 Visitors peek inside a building in Bodie State Historic Park 67 5.4 Two former commercial buildings in Bodie 69 5.5 Items arranged in the window of Bodie’s schoolhouse 70 6.1 Virginia City Outlaws Wild West Show 72 6.2 Timeline of Virginia City history and population 73 6.3 Virginia City’s cemetery 80 6.4 The Bonanza Casino and Café in Virginia City 82 6.5 Bank of America in Virginia City 85 7.1 Cripple Creek District Museum 87 7.2 Timeline of Cripple Creek history and population 88 7.3 Map of “Nugget” casinos in Nevada 90 7.4 Kenny Rogers-themed slot machine 91 7.5 Map of Cripple Creek casinos 96 7.6 Facades along Bennett Avenue, Cripple Creek 100 7.7 Parking lots in Cripple Creek 104 7.8 The Midnight Rose parking structure, Cripple Creek 105 1 1. Introduction Many mining towns in the American West share a common history – the development of mining claims and stamp mills; tent-cities growing into urban centers within months; the coming of the railroad, post office, and stage routes; and the boom and bust of population following initial speculation and the later decline of profits. While relatively few of the old western mining towns remain, especially in unforgiving terrains like that of Nevada, the development of the mining town into a site of tourism has changed the cultural landscape more than many visitors realize. In the mind of many Americans, the days of mining in the West long since came to an end, now a part of history and the frontier experience. Modern mining operations in the western states no longer resemble common perceptions of old western mining, but instead are in many ways indistinguishable from eastern operations because of Fig. 1.1. The silhouette of a prospector and his pack mule mark the entrance to the Cripple Creek Historic District, Colorado. Photo by David Shankbone, Wikimedia Commons. 2 standardized technology, procedures, and safety measures. No longer does the lone prospector wander the vast desert with his pack-mule, pick, and coffeepot, panning for gold in an isolated streambed. This romantic, albeit inaccurate and stereotypical, image has been replaced by technology and geophysical survey work that in no way represents the individual fortitude or ingenuity of an American forging his way on the Frontier. 19th and 20th century mines were a source of impressive technological innovations, while modern large-scale operations are accused of using technology to destroy the earth. As Richard Francaviglia points out, there is often animosity toward destructive mining activities, which are “regarded with nostalgia only after they are finished” (1991, 205). Historic mining in many parts of the West is now romanticized and idealized into a tourist experience that emphasizes a mythic past. Popular history has favored the exploitation of certain dramatic, memorable events and characters in the history of each town, or has even borrowed these features from the popular legends of other western towns; one business in Virginia City has crudely fashioned wooden headstones for Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid on its doorstep (Fig 1.2), and the “Wild West Show,” a staged shoot-out, gives credit to Tombstone. As James Loewen discusses in Lies across America (1999), “history wars” are also common where multiple communities attempt to claim an important event or character as part of their own heritage, such as the disputes over both Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok’s final resting places. Part of the intention of this thesis is to show the role of popular culture and history in the development of the mining town into a tourist attraction that capitalizes on the 3 Fig 1.2. A headstone for Wyatt Earp, the famous Tombstone resident, propped against the door frame of a Virginia City Business. Photo by author. community’s history of mining1. The American West, a mythic concept, has been an important part of pop culture since it gained popularity through dime novels in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The dime novel helped to establish character archetypes that would soon be adopted in Western films: the cowboy hero, gunslinger, vigilante, outlaw, bandit, Indian, prostitute, lawman, gambler, drunkard, and robber baron, to name a few. The 1903 film The Great Train Robbery marked the start of an era of the Western in film, a medium that quickly popularized the Western genre. The cowboy became a nationally 1 As opposed to towns where the mining history is incidental to the development of tourism, such as the number of Rocky Mountain mining towns that are ski resorts today; this includes Aspen, Vail, and Telluride in Colorado, as well as Red Lodge, Montana. 4 recognized hero by the 1930s, and “people around the world readily recognized the cowboy as the symbol not only of the West but of America” (Christensen 2002). Although the popularity of the Western has waxed and waned over the years, it has continued to be an important genre up to the present day, with recent films like No Country for Old Men (2007), the True Grit remake (2010), 3:10 to Yuma (2007), and even the family film Rango (2011). The stories told in contemporary film and print are creative reinterpretations of the classic-era western, expanding into genres like steampunk, fantasy, and science fiction, as in the case of Wild Wild West (1999), Jonah Hex (2010), Serenity (2005), and Back to the Future Part III (1990). The wide-spread recognition of the images conveyed through western film, television, and print over the last century has had an influence on the landscape. While popular culture plays a significant role in shaping the western mining town, it is not the main argument of this thesis. Emphasis is on the changing cultural landscape, looking at themes in landscape management and historical preservation as they relate to the history and pseudo-history of the region. Three case studies exemplify major themes of tourism and landscape management that have arisen from the western mining town: Virginia City, Nevada; Bodie, California; and Cripple Creek, Colorado. All three of these case studies are Historic Districts under the National Historic Landmarks Program and the National Register of Historic Places. Virginia City serves as an example of a standard historical tourist attraction, a historic site preserved for tourism; Bodie, California, as the abandoned ghost town turned museum display; and Cripple Creek, Colorado, as the historic district with an economy renewed by gambling. In the process of addressing these case studies, examples of secondary importance will be referenced to support 5 Fig. 1.3.