Background
Wingfield, George was born on August 16, 1876 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States. Son of Thomas Y. and Martha Matilda (Spradling) Wingfield.
Wingfield, George was born on August 16, 1876 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States. Son of Thomas Y. and Martha Matilda (Spradling) Wingfield.
Educational public schools.
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. His family removed to Oregon when he was five years old, and he became a buckaroo on a ranch in Burns.
At age 20, he became a cattle drover in Nevada.
He arrived in Tonopah in 1902 and dealt cards at the Tonopah Club. 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 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.
He also ran a ranch and dairy farm in Fallon.
In 1928, Wingfield was elected to the University Board of Regents for the University of Nevada, but rejected an offer to become a United States Senator. Much of Wingfield"s fortune was lost during the Great Depression. Wingfield Park, alongside the Truckee River in Reno, was built on land donated by George Wingfield.
Starting in 1995, a new 1660-acre, 400-home neighborhood was constructed on the site of George Wingfield"s former Spanish Springs Ranch.
Red Hawk at Wingfield Springs was completed in 2005 and named after Wingfield by its developer, Harvey Whittemore.
Member Republican National Committee. Member Board Regents University of Nevada. Member American Mining Congress (vice president), American Academy Political and Social Science.
Clubs: Bohemian, Press, Olympic, San Francisco-Alaska (San Francisco).
Married Maude Murdock, July 30, 1908. Children: Jean, George.