George Wingfield

George Wingfield (August 16, 1876 - December 25, 1959) was a Nevada banker and miner. He was considered to be one of the state's most powerful economic and political figures during the period from 1909 to 1932. Wingfield rose from faro-dealer to the position of richest man in Nevada in less than five years.[1]

George Wingfield
Born(1876-08-16)August 16, 1876
Fort Smith, Arkansas
DiedDecember 25, 1959(1959-12-25) (aged 83)
Reno, Nevada
NationalityAmerican
OccupationBanker and miner
Known forOne of the state's most powerful economic and political figures during the period from 1909 to 1932

Biography
In November, 1906, the Goldfield Consolidated Mines Company was incorporated by owners George Wingfield and United States Senator George Nixon

Wingfield was born at Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1876. His family moved to Oregon when he was five years old, and he became a buckaroo on a ranch in Burns.[2] At age 20, he became a cattle drover in Nevada. He arrived in Tonopah in 1902 and dealt cards at the Tonopah Club.[3] He moved to Winnemucca, where he became friends with United States Senator George S. Nixon.[4] By the age of 30, he made a fortune in Nevada, having mined in Tonopah and Goldfield. With Nixon as his partner, Wingfield was worth $30 million after taking their Goldfield Consolidated Mining Company public in 1906, which had been organized with $50 million in capital. In 1906, his wife, May, filed for divorce; the case ended in an annulment.[5] In 1908, he moved to Reno and became active in politics, banking, ranching, and hotel-keeping. He owned many of the banks in Nevada, as well as several hotels in Reno, including the Riverside Hotel, and an international mining company.[6] He also ran a ranch and dairy farm in Fallon.[7] In 1928, Wingfield was elected to the University Board of Regents for the University of Nevada,[5] but rejected an offer to become a US Senator.[8] Much of Wingfield's fortune was lost during the Great Depression.[9]

George Wingfield died in Reno on December 25, 1959.[10]

Legacy

Wingfield Park, alongside the Truckee River in Reno, was built on land donated by George Wingfield. Starting in 1995, a new 1,660-acre, 400-home neighborhood was constructed on the site of George Wingfield's former Spanish Springs Ranch.[11] Red Hawk at Wingfield Springs was completed in 2005 and named after Wingfield by its developer, Harvey Whittemore.[12]

References
  1. John Bonner, George William Curtis, Henry Mills Alden, Samuel Stillman Conant, Montgomery Schuyler, Carl Schurz, John Foord, Henry Loomis Nelson, Richard Harding Davis, George Brinton McClellan Harvey, John Kendrick Bangs, Norman Hapgood (1907). Harper's weekly (Public domain ed.). Harper & brothers. pp. 909–. Retrieved January 10, 2012.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  2. Toll, David W. (November 2002). The Complete Nevada Traveler, Revised Edition: The Affectionate And Intimately Detailed Guidebook To The Most Interesting State In America. University of Nevada Press. pp. 173–. ISBN 978-0-940936-12-6. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  3. Foundation, George Edward Durell (March 21, 1995). Money and banking: the American experience. George Mason University Press. p. 326. ISBN 978-0-913969-74-8. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  4. Southern Pacific Company. Passenger Dept (1912). Sunset (Public domain ed.). Passenger Dept., Southern Pacific Co. pp. 446–. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  5. Edwards, Jerome E. (January 1, 1982). Pat McCarran, political boss of Nevada. University of Nevada Press. pp. 10, 28, 41–. ISBN 978-0-87417-071-9. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  6. Raymond, C. Elizabeth (November 1, 1992). George Wingfield: owner and operator of Nevada. University of Nevada Press. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-0-87417-197-6. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  7. BeDunnah, Gary (April 26, 2006). Nevada, Our Home: Revision of Discovering Nevada. Gibbs Smith. pp. 160–. ISBN 978-1-58685-821-6. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  8. Reid, John Bevis; James, Ronald Michael (2004). Uncovering Nevada's past: a primary source history of the Silver State. University of Nevada Press. pp. 94–. ISBN 978-0-87417-567-7. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  9. "George Wingfield". Library, State of Nevada. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  10. "George Wingfield Dies". Reno Gazette-Journal. Associated Press. December 26, 1959. p. 1. Retrieved July 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "ULI - Development Case Studies". Urban Land Institute. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  12. Damon, Anjeanette (June 10, 2012). "Indictment caps lobbyist Harvey Whittemore's dramatic fall from grace". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
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