Stone Jail Building and Row House
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Stone Jail Building and Row House | |
 The building in 2024 | |
   | |
| Location | Water St. Tonopah, Nevada |
|---|---|
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1903 |
| MPS | Tonopah MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 82003248[1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 20, 1982 |
The Stone Jail Building and Row House are two adjacent stone buildings located on Water Street in Tonopah, Nevada. The jail was built in 1903 and the adjacent row house in 1908. Both building were at one time used as a brothel.[2] The buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[3][4]
In May 1900 prospector Jim Butler found silver ore in Mount Oddle.[5] Other prospectors followed, and a small mining town started to grow at the foot of the hills. By November 1900 this had grown into the town of Tonopah. In 1901 a timber framed jail had been built, and at the end of that year the population had risen to between 2,000 and 3,000.[6]
The more secure stone jail was built in 1903 to replace the existing timer frame building. The jail was built on Water Street, which was considered Tonopah's red light district at the time, possibly because county commissioner Egan and district attorney Charles L. Richards wished to keep the jail out of the town's more prominent areas.[2]
The Nye County seat was moved from Belmont to Tonopah in 1905, and the Nye County Courthouse built. A jail was added to the courthouse in 1907[7] and the old jail became a private residence.[2]
The adjacent row house, ("cribs") was built in 1908 as a brothel and the jail also became a brothel around this time. The row house has since been called "one of the best preserved brothels in Tonopah" by a historic survey. The jail was at some time used as a garage.[2]