Description given with photograph: "Howard Hughes as he walked to his plane a huge Boeing Stratoliner for a series of tests."

Main Street, Silver Peak, Nevada, 1938. There is an inscription on the back of the image: "In 1938, Silver Peak was Esmeralda County's largest and most prosperous town, boasting a population of over 1,000. The economy was supported chiefly by the nearby mines of the Nivloc and Mary Mine areas. The town's prosperity ended when the mines closed with the beginning of WWII." The section of town in the upper left corner of the photo, which included the post office, several stores and a theater was destroyed by fire in 1948. There is a date stamp: Christmas, 1986.

A view of a group of unidentified men and Howard Hughes standing together in front of the Trans World Atlantic (TWA) transcontinental plane after the aircraft had landed.

A view of a group of unidentified men and Howard Hughes standing together in front of the Trans World Atlantic (TWA) transcontinental plane after the aircraft had landed.

A view of a group of unidentified men and Howard Hughes standing together in front of the Trans World Atlantic (TWA) transcontinental plane after the aircraft had landed.

From the Nye County, Nevada Photograph Collection (PH-00221) -- Series IV. Pahrump, Nevada -- Subseries IV.A. Hughes Family. Betty Jean Hughes, daughter of John R. Hughes, riding her brother Leon's horse, Chico, on the Pahrump Ranch in Nevada. The fence in the background encircled the "motel".