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Pioneer Saloon added to State Register of Historic Places
Visitors to the saloon may hear the tale of when Clark Gable sat at the bar for three days straight after he learned of the death of wife, Carole Lombard, or of how the wall earned its still-there bullet holes. It is a true remnant of the fabled Wild West and has been used as an authentic set for several Hollywood movies, including “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “The Mexican.”
The Pioneer Saloon was deemed “significant for its role in providing entertainment and recreation to citizens of the budding town of Goodsprings.” Built in or around 1913 by George Fayle, the saloon was one of many of Fayle's enterprises in the area. He built and operated the elegant Fayle Hotel (destroyed by fire in 1966), operated mercantiles and claims throughout the Yellow Pine mining district and ran the Goodsprings Café, adjacent to the saloon. Fayle was also the first postmaster of nearby Jean, Nev., and served as a Clark County commissioner from 1912 to 1918, the year of his death.
The construction of the Pioneer Saloon is part of what sets it apart as one of the last, if not the last, of its kind in the United States. It is entirely enveloped in white-washed pressed tin tiles that replicate shaped stone blocks. The interior walls are also covered in decorative, floral pressed-tin tiles, and the historic back and front bars were carved of cherry wood by the Brunswick Company and first installed in a Rhyolite bar before moving to the Pioneer in 1913.
For information on the Pioneer Saloon, visit www.pioneersaloon.info. For information on the State Register of Historic Places, visit www.nevadaculture.org.