Nevada Historical Marker #144
Fort Mc Dermitt. Established in 1865, Fort McDermitt was first called Quinn River Camp #33 on the East Fork, then renamed in honor of military district commander Lt. Col. Charles McDermitt, who died while fighting Native Americans. The fort consisted of several adobe, stone, and frame buildings surrounding a square. Its purpose was to protect the Virginia City-Quinn River Valley-Oregon road. Twenty-four years of operation made it the longest-serving active army fort in Nevada. Its troops participated in the Modoc War and in conflicts with the Bannock and Shoshone Tribes. It was the last of the Nevada army posts in service when converted into an American Indian reservation school in 1889.
Veterans Memorial Highway, Fort McDermitt, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #143
Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins (1844 1891). Proposed Text, Marker Plate in Production:Sarah Winnemucca, whose Paiute name was Thocmentony (Shell-flower), was the daughter of Chief Winnemucca, and granddaughter of Captain Truckee, a friend and supporter of Captain John C. Frémont. Sarah Winnemucca sought understanding between her people and European Americans when the latter settled on Paiute homelands. Sarah lectured, wrote a foundational book in American Indian literature, and founded the non-government Peabody School for Native children outside of Lovelock, Nevada. She worked tirelessly to remedy injustice for her people and to advocate peace. Here at Fort McDermitt she served as an interpreter and teacher. Because of her importance to the nation’s history, Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins was honored in 2005 with a statue in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol.STATE HISTORIC
North Road, Fort McDermitt, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #146
Mc Dermitt Indian Reservation. In the mid-1860s many Paiutes returning from Oregon’s Indian reservation, joined some from the pyramid lake Indian reservation (home of the “cui-ui eaters”) because of poor treatment and the dishonest dealings of U.S. Indian agents. These Native Americans settled about fort McDermitt, where they aided the local military against bannocks and others resisting settlers who were taking over.Nearby mercury mines furnished employment for Native Americans adjusting to the life style of the settlers. Likewise, today a local precision assembly industry utilizes the dexterity skills of the Indians today. Red and green clays from the canyon are now made into pottery.
Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, Fort McDermitt, NV, United States