Central Nevada Museum

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Central Nevada Museum is a nonprofit local history museum in Tonopah, Nevada. It is located at 1900 Logan Field Road, Tonopah, 89049. The museum preserves historical records and artifacts from Nye and Esmeralda counties and mining towns such as Belmont, Gilbert, and Weepah.

It was founded in 1981 by the Central Nevada Historical Society with a grant from the Fleischmann Foundation. Local residents started the society to protect Tonopah’s mining past. In the early 1900s Tonopah was famous for its silver, gold, and copper mines, but many mining companies left after World War II.

The museum began with Tonopah’s mining history but now covers broader history, including World War II and the Tonopah Army Airfield (now Tonopah Air Force Base).

Exhibits include an outdoor “old west town” with replicas and original exteriors, a saloon, and a miners’ cabin. Inside there is a permanent exhibit with Native American artifacts and displays about the mining boom and Tonopah’s military base.