Nevada Backroaders

GOLDFIELD, Nev. (AP) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants the former mining boom town of Goldfield to become a national park, or at least a national historic landmark.

Reid induced the National Park Service earlier this year to conduct a study to determine Goldfield's suitability as a national park. About 100 years ago, the town boasted 20,000 residents and was the largest city in the state. It now has fewer than 500 residents.

The Park Service found that nearly all historical structures were privately owned, making its suitability as a national park unclear. Researchers said additional study would be needed to determine the level of public support for national park status and whether resources were available for acquisition, but they did say it should be nominated as a national historic landmark.

Reid intends to introduce a bill for an additional study.

"I love history," Reid said. "Most historians will say the last gold rush in our country was in Goldfield. There were union fights there. There was a major prize fight there. There is so much there we need to preserve."

However, not everyone in the town is on board with that idea. Some locals think the town has enough rustic charm without the government's help.

"We are going great," Esmeralda County Commissioner R.J. Gillum said. "We don't want the federal government here."

Gillum contends most residents were angered by moves in recent years by Reid to create wilderness areas in Esmeralda County.

"If Reid gets what he wants, there go our property rights," he said. "They are going to tell us the style they want for our homes, whether they should be painted brown or some other color."

A bumper sticker over the bar in the Santa Fe Saloon reflects this anti-Reid attitude.

"Will Rogers Never Met Harry Reid," it reads, referring to the humorist who once said he never met a man he didn't like.

Gillum said he might be persuaded to back a park service presence in Goldfield if he could secure a pledge in writing from Reid that locals will make the decisions and not be prevented from using their property the way they want.

"We need some bathrooms," Gillum said.

State Historical Preservation Officer Ron James, who serves on the National Historic Landmark Committee, doesn't want Goldfield residents to hurt themselves with their anti-federal government argument.

Often the park service obtains only a building or two for landmark status and other buildings will be left as they are, in private hands without the government imposing any restrictions on them, according to James.

"They aren't going to obtain the whole town," he said. "Let's give the town some hope. Take the old high school. Couldn't the federal government fix it up and open it as an interpretative center for what's in Goldfield?"

Reid pointed out that most of the Esmeralda County Commission backs his attempt to revive the community. He is confident that most residents also support his plans for Goldfield.

"What is the alternative?" he said. "Let all the buildings collapse and the history of Goldfield to fall with them?"