Nevada Historical Marker #18
Pyramid Lake. America’s most beautiful desert lake is a remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan which covered some 8,4513 square miles in western Nevada during the ice age. Caves and rock shelters along its shore have yielded evidence of Numu (Paiute) people living here for thousands of years. John C. Fremont came upon the lake on January 10, 1844 and named it for the pyramid shaped island just off the east shore. The Numu call the pyramid formulation Wono. The Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation was created in 1859. The history of the Numu people living here has been one of contention with encroaching settlers. With the Numu victory in the first battle of Pyramid Lake, May 12, 1860 more European American men died than in any prior engagement west of the Mississippi. Anaho Island, just to the south of the pyramid, was established as a national wildlife refuge in 1913 and is today one of the largest white pelican nesting grounds in North America.
Pyramid Lake Highway, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #211
Old Geiger Grade. Marker damaged by collision. Placed on priority repair list 2017.In the canyon below is the Old Geiger Grade road. Constructed by Dr Davison M. Geiger and John H. Tilton in 1862, this old toll road was the most direct connection between the Comstock Lode and the Truckee Meadows, until replaced by the present, New Deal-era highway in 1936.Concord stages, mud wagons, and ten-mule freighters carried thousands of passengers and millions of dollars in precious cargo across this section of the Virginia Range. There are many stories of unpredictable winds, snows, landslides, and the everlasting danger of lurking highwaymen involving this precipitous stretch of road. Dead Man’s Point and “Robber’s” Roost, two of the most famous features of the road, can be seen from this marker.
Geiger Grade, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #30
Reno. Before the arrival of the European Americans, the Washoe and Paiute people inhabited the Truckee Meadows. The Stevens-Murphy emigrant party passed through the area in 1844, and settlement began in the early 1850s. Charles William Fuller established a river ferry across the Truckee in the fall of 1859 and completed a bridge and a hotel by the spring of 1860. Myron C. Lake acquired Fuller’s holdings in 1861, rebuilt the bridge, and established Lake’s Crossing. In 1868, Lake offered land for a depot to the Central Pacific Railroad and the town was laid out. The community’s name honors a Civil War officer, General Jesse Lee Reno.Reno’s transcontinental railroad connection and its rail link to the Comstock Lode helped lay the foundation for the economy, as did the lumber industry and the surrounding ranches and farms.The community’s reputation as a divorce center began in 1906 and gambling was legalized in 1931.
South Virginia Street, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #220
The Fight Of The Century. On this site on July 4, 1910, Reno hosted ‘The Fight of the Century,” a heavyweight championship boxing match between John Arthur Jack Johnson, the African American title holder, and James J. ‘Jim’ Jeffries, a former champion seeking to regain the title he had vacated in 1904. Jeffries had refereed a previous championship bout between Marvin Hart and Jack Root at this site on July 3, 1905, but the promotion of the ex-champion as “The Great White Hope’ focused worldwide attention on his 1910 contest with the talented Johnson, known as the “Galveston Giant.” Gamblers had their money on Jeffries, but Johnson easily handled his opponent and Jeffries’ trainers called the fight in the fifteenth round to save their man from the disgrace of a knockout.Organized by famed promoter Tex Rickard, the fight brought over 30,000 fans to Reno, some 22,000 of whom packed the arena here on the day of the fight.
E 4th Street, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #227
Lake Mansion Home Of Myron C. Lake Founder Of Reno 1877. Built by Washington J. MarshEntrant: National Register of Historic Places
Court St, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #230
Mount Rose Weather Observatory. Two miles to the northwest of this point lies Mt. Rose. On the 10,778 foot summit, Dr. James Edward church of the University of Nevada established one of America’s first high-altitude meteorological observatories on June 29, 1905. At the observatory, he carried out his famed snow studies and developed the modern science of snow survey. Dr. Church’s Nevada system of snow survey is used throughout the world today to predict seasonal water flow from precipitation stored as snow pack. In his honor, the north summit of Mt. Rose has been named “Church Peak.”
Mount Rose Highway, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #212
Galena. Galena began as an important lumbering center and mining camp. In 1860, R. S. and Andrew Hatch laid out the town and organized a mining district. The Hatch brothers’ quartz mill and smelter were among the earliest erected on this side of the Sierra. The gold deposits from the local mines contained a lead sulphide named “Galena,” which caused the mining operations to be unprofitable, but the mills continued to operate, processing ores from the Comstock mines.Eleven sawmills were operating by 1863, and Galena boasted stores, lodging houses, a justice court, a school which doubled as a community hall, saloons, and dozens of homes. The severe winter of 1864-1865 interrupted freighting to Virginia City, and the ensuing mining depression forced the Galena mills to close. After two disastrous fires in 1865 and 1867, Galena was abandoned.
Callahan Rd, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #218
Geiger Station. Seven-tenths of a mile east of this marker was Geiger’s Station, the largest station on the Geiger Grade Toll Road, the main thoroughfare between the Comstock Lode and the ranches of the Truckee Meadows. Located at the site were a toll house, three blacksmith shops, three barns, several corrals, and an inn named Magnolia House. During the boom years of the Comstock Lode, the 1860s and 1870s, the station was crowded with freight outfits, stagecoaches, and weary teamsters. Passing travelers could stop at the inn for a drink or a quick meal.Following the extension of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad to Reno in August 1872, the toll road fell into disuse, and a few years later it became a public highway. Magnolia House continued operating until 1915. Social activity at the inn included dances, attracting residents from Virginia City, nearby valleys, and the Truckee Meadows.
Toll Road, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #256
Historic Transportation. The historic road corridors from the Truckee Meadows northwestward into the Honey Lake area contains a tangle of intertwined routes following the course of valleys, portions of an emigrant trail cutoff, toll roads, county roads and casual parallel routes developed to bypass blockages such as mud holes. Construction of the paved precursor to U.S. 395 and recent freeway construction along this same corridor have obliterated much of the earlier road system, cutting it into isolated segments. The road is associated with the continuing history of transportation in the state of Nevada, reflecting the process of road improvement and economic and demographic change. HONEY LAKE 1856-1863 In 1856, the early settlers of the region, the Honey Lakers, proposed the territory of Nataqua, encompassing the land along the eastern Sierra from Susanville to Carson Valley. The 1859 silver strikes in the Comstock Lake generated a prosperous market for the ranchers' livestock and produce. Freight wagons and stagecoaches ran regularly over the rutted road from the Honey Lake area to Virginia City and strengthened the settlers' attachment to eastern Sierra settlements rather than those in California. The Honey Lake ranchers felt so strongly about their independence and connection to the Great Basin environs, they fought the 1863 Sagebrush War attempting to block their annexation to Plumas County, California. EMIGRANT TRAIL 1851-1855 In 1851, James Pierson Beckwourth (1798-1866), the son of Sir Jennings Beckwith and a slave, located and constructed a wagon road connecting the California Emigrant Trail in the Truckee Meadows to Marysville, California via Sierra Valley (portions of Highway 70). Beckwourth, a trapper and trader, hoped to earn his fortune with the opening of the road; however, he was never reimbursed as promised by the mayor or Marysville for road construction. The trail served for a few years as an alternative pass through the Sierra; it became a byway for local traffic after 1855. ROADSIDE STATIONS AND RANCHES 1850s This marker is located at the Peavine Ranch, an overnight stop for the travelers along the road from the Truckee River to ranches near Honey Lake. The ranch advertised a well-stocked table and bar and first class beds. Purchased in 1862 by Fielding Lemmon, it was initially part of real estate and mining promotion as platted on this 1867 map, but Peavine grew instead into a prosperous livestock operation. Several other ranches were located along the road, yet, for nearly a hundred years regional growth centered around downtown Reno and Sparks. Over time, most of the ranches and stage stops were replaced by small isolated communities, then larder communities, and eventually suburbs. HIGHWAY SYSTEM 1930s-PRESENT The Three Flags Highway gave way to U.S. 395, which was an extension of Virginia Street in Reno. In the 1970s a four-lane system was proposed. The highway generally follows the same transportation corridor and still cuts through the Peavine Ranch property. THREE FLAGS HIGHWAY 1923-1930s One of the first federally funded highways in Nevada was a macadam road from Reno to the Nevada/California border. The Nevada Highway Commission was organized in 1917. Federal money was mandated for Nevada in 1921 and construction started in April 1922 for the Three Flags Highway, the road linking Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Portions of the road still remain. TOLL ROADS 1850s-1860s Prior to state and federally constructed highways, a stage and toll road between Honey Lake and Virginia City was more or less maintained under a succession of private owners such as Myron C. Lake. In 1861, Lake traded property in Honey Lake Valley for the log toll bridge across the Truckee River with Charles W. Fuller of Susanville. Lake applied for a franchise to improve, maintain and construct a toll road from three miles south of this bridge to the California/Nevada border excluding passage through town streets of Reno. The early road, approximately 20 miles long, was in a constant deplorable condition and impassable at times.
N Virginia St, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #4
Junction House. One of the busiest crossroads of pioneer Nevada converged at this point, serving many major toll roads of the area. The earliest emigrants from the east crossed through Truckee Meadows at this point, and by 1853, the intersection was known as Junction House, was the first permanent settlement in this valley and a stopping place for thousands. Junction House, later called Andersons, was a station for toll roads of the 1860s including the turnpike to Washoe City, the Myron Lake Road to Oregon, the Geiger Road to Virginia City and the important Henness Pass route to California.Governor Sparks bought the property in the late 1890s, and most recently it belonged to cattleman William Moffat.
South Virginia St, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #81
Grand Army Of The Republic Tree. This tree was planted in soil from Civil War battlefields and dedicated to the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic by the national commander in chief June on 10, 1913. It was dedicated by Isaac Crist Camp No. 28, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and Johana Shine Tent No. 82, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War in Reno, Nevada, October 18, 1969.
East 9th St, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #234
Moana Springs. Opened as a resort on October 29, 1905, Moana Springs took its name from a famous Hawaiian spa. In addition to a large bath house with a pool fed by hot springs, Moana had a stately hotel, a clubhouse, baseball diamond and picnic grounds. Constructed and initially operated by Charles T. Short, (who gave the resort its name), Al North and John N. Evans, Moana was acquired by Louis W. Berrum in 1913 and remained in his family for the next four decades. Served by Berrum’s Nevada interurban trolley line from 1907 to 1920, Moana hosted dances, rodeos, boxing matches, trapshoots, circuses and aviation exhibitions. The City of Reno purchased Moana in 1956 and the remaining buildings were demolished the next year to make way for a new recreational complex.
West Moana Lane, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #248
Virginia And Truckee Railroad Right Of Way. The Virginia & Truckee Railroad was built between 1868 and 1872 to connect the mining and milling communities of the Comstock to the Central Pacific Railroad that ran through Reno.The line first connected Virginia City to Carson City in 1869, but work to run the railroad north moved quickly. Soon after Chinese laborers graded this section during the summer of 1871, track gangs commenced laying rail south, reaching Steamboat Springs by late October. Nine months later, Superintendent Henry M. Yerington drove the last spike a mile west of Carson City on August 24, 1872, connecting Virginia City with Reno by rail. Although regularly scheduled passenger service didn’t begin until October 1, the first through train traversed the 52 mile route on September 1, 1872 - the last passed by here on May 31, 1950.
Holcomb Avenue, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #240
Coney Island. Opened to the public on June 20 1909, Coney Island was among the most elaborate amusement parks of its day. Otto G. Benschuetz, founder and owner, landscaped the grounds, put in a children’s playground, a bandstand for outdoor concerts and a dance pavilion which also served as a skating rink and theatre. Coney Island also had an artificial lake complete with boats, covered landings and bath houses. The park’s heyday passed with Benschuetz’s death in 1912. An aircraft assembly plant occupied the site in the early “twenties” and an auto court was established here later. The pavilion was destroyed by fire in 1927 and a second blaze in 1930 took other structures. All the remaining buildings were torn down when Interstate 80 was constructed in the 1960’s.
Galletti Way, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #247
Site Of Nevada’s First Public Library. In 1895, Washoe County District Attorney, Frank H. Norcross, later a Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court and a Federal Judge, began a drive to establish Nevada’s first free public library in Reno. That year, he persuaded the Nevada Legislature to enact a law establishing Nevada’s public libraries.The state’s first public library building was erected on this site in 1904, with $15,000 donated by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie on land originally donated to the City of Reno by pioneer Myron C. Lake. It remained in service until 1930, when growth forced its relocation to the site where the Pioneer Theater Auditorium now stands. The library was sold for $1 and demolished in 1931.In 1966, the library was relocated to a new building at Center and Liberty Streets, three blocks south of this site.
South Virginia St, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #265
Governor Emmet Derby Boyle. Eight grave sites to the north rests Emmet Derby Boyle (1879-1926), the first native-born governor of Nevada, serving from 1915-1923. Born in Goldhill, Boyle was also the first graduate of the University of Nevada to become governor. At thirty-five, he was the youngest person to hold the state’s highest office.Governor Emmet Boyle worked on Nevada’s water laws and introduced the state’s first executive budget. A strong supporter of women’s rights, Boyle called the Nevada Legislature into special session in 1920 to ratify the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution granting women the right to vote.Emmet Boyle died on January 3, 1926 and is buried next to his wife Vida McClure Boyle who he married in 1903.
Mountain View Cemetery, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #267
Galena Creek Fish Hatchery. The Galena Fish Hatchery represents an attempt to make amends after Nevada’s Comstock Lode ravaged the region’s ecosystem in the 1860s and 1870s. Fishing decimated local streams and lakes to feed a growing population. Eventually, restocking became an important goal.Washoe County operated this hatchery from 1931 to 1949 as an auxiliary to their main facility on the Truckee River in Reno. Galena Creek was ideal because of the continuous supply of uncontaminated water. The hatchery reflects a trend, beginning in the 1920s, to combine habitat conservation and recreational developmentThe county ceased hatchery operations in 1949. After that, the Boy Scouts, the Sierra Sage Council of Camp Fire, Inc., and the Washoe Bowmen and Sierra Archers used the site. In 1994, Washoe County reacquired the property as part of Galena Creek Regional Park with plans to restore the building for community use.NEVADA
Galena Creek, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #253
Emigrant Donner Camp. Upon entering the Truckee Meadows along the Truckee River thousands of California-bound emigrants turned their wagons southwest to avoid extensive marshes and uncrossable sloughs. Here at the base of Rattlesnake Mountain the emigrants established a campground which extended nearly two miles to the east and west, one half mile north and south. Numerous local springs furnished quality water and the protected location of the camp provided an ideal locale for a rest stop after hundreds of grueling miles spent traversing the Humboldt River Valley. Once rested the emigrants turned west to lace their major obstacle, the Sierra Nevadas. In October of 1846, the ill-fated Donner Party spent five days in this area resting and grazing their weary animals. Plagued by a series of unfortunate incidents one member of the party, William Pike, was accidentally shot, died and was buried in the vicinity.
Donner Party Park, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #198
Steamboat Springs. These natural hot-springs are notable for their curative reputation. They were acclaimed by President Ulysses S. Grant when he visited in 1879.Early emigrants thought they looked like a distant Steamboat because of their puffing and blowing. Felix Monet located the springs in 1860, and Doctor Joseph Ellis subsequently added a hospital and bathhouses in 1861-1862.Comstock mining and the coming of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad in 1871 caused Steamboat to become a terminal. Materials for the silver mines were transferred to freight wagons for the steep haul to Virginia City at this point. The completion of the tracks abolished the need for a junction, but the resort’s popularity reached its peak with the bonanza days during the 1870s.With the failure of the Comstock mines in the 1880s, attendance at the springs waned. Fires destroyed the luxurious buildings, but the therapeutic waters remained. Health seekers, and conditioning athletes continued to visit here, and the springs even produce mineral muds sought by cosmeticians and race horse owners.
Carson-Reno Highway, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #210
N.C.O. Railroad Depot 1910. In the 1880s, the Nevada-Oregon Railway (N-C-C) line began operations north to Beckworth, California. In 1884, the new owners, the Moran brothers, renamed the line the Nevada-California-Oregon Railway. They extended the tracks to Lakeview, Oregon, making this line one of the largest narrow gauge railroads in the west.This railroad depot was built in 1910. Architect Fredric DeLongchamps designed the building. He incorporated several architectural styles in the station. The entry porch is in the mission style; the roof eaves are from the Italianate style; and the arched windows and doorways follow the Romanesque Revival style.In 1917, the Western Pacific Railroad purchased the N.C.O. Line from Reno to Herlong, California and standard gauged it. The depot continued to serve the traveling public until 1937.
East 4th Street, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #79
Grand Army Of The Republic Cemetery. In 1890 General OM. Mitchel Post 69, Grand Army of the Republic, bought 17 lots in the original Hillside Cemetery for the last resting place for comrades-in arms during the Civil War, 1861-1865.While Friends and relatives of the soldiers maintained the cemetery well, years of neglect and vandalism followed in the twentieth century. Restoration began in 1963 by the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War and other interested citizens of the Reno area.Among those buried here are members of the Nevada volunteers who served in their own state and neighboring areas of the West from 1861 -1866.
West 10th St, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #238
Huffaker’s. Before the arrival, 1858, of Granville W. Huffaker driving 500 head of cattle into the Truckee Meadows, the principal settlers were Mormons. The Comstock Lode and its mining needs focused attention on the valley. Huffaker established his ranch in 1859. Langton’s stage line and the first post office were functioning by 1862. For ten years, Huffaker’s was a most active stage-stop and a center for a community. The schoolhouse was constructed in 1868. Bachelors of a jolly nature gathered here for dancing, horse-racing and “land squabbles”. The Athenian Literary Society flourished for the more cultured. In 1875, the “Bonanza Kings” completed their pacific lumber and flume operation from the Lake Tahoe Basin. For fifteen miles, trestled logs were propelled “by waters rushing faster than any train”. At the terminus of the flume, the Virginia and Truckee Railroad opened a depot and telegraph office and constructed a spur where workers transferred timber.
South Virginia St, Reno, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #245
Frederic Joseph De Longchamps. Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps was Nevada’s foremost architect of his time. Statewide, he was prolific in the number of buildings he designed. From this point, one can see a group of structures that stand, collectively, as a monument to DeLongchamps: the United State Post Office, the Riverside Hotel, the Washoe County Courthouse and the Reno National Bank Building. The Northern Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, dedicated to excellence in architecture, honors the memory of Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps.
N Virginia St, Reno, NV, United States