The Story of Nevada's Historic Railroads

J.W. Bowker at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City

  Few book projects have remained as relevant over the years as David Myrick’s splendid three-volume series, “Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California.”

  The first two volumes were originally released in 1962 and 1963, respectively, while the third was released in 2007.

  The first two books were once difficult to find, commanding premium prices in rare book stores. Fortunately, in 1992, the two volumes were reprinted by the University of Nevada Press, with the third volume added a decade and a half later. All three remain available from the University of Nevada Press.

  Together, the books contain the history of some 69 railroads, both large and small, that have operated in the Silver State. Indeed, after perusing just the first two books, you can’t help but feel that nearly every mining town in Nevada must have had a railroad at some point.

  Of special note are the 500-plus rare, vintage photographs of the various railroad equipment, buildings and affiliated communities—an invaluable photographic record of the industrial development of the state.

  Fortunately for readers, the late Myrick (he passed away in 2011), a noted railroad historian, isn’t content to merely tell the dry facts and figures behind each of these railroads. Rather, he weaves that information into the appropriate historical context, showing how each railroad was a reflection of the rapid growth and, later, decline of these mining towns.

  For those interested in exploring Nevada, the books are also a valuable resource when it comes to trying to retrace the locations and routes of these ancient railways. Detailed maps included with each railroad section show the original route, including names of stations and stops.

  Additionally, the end sheets of each volume include a map of the state and eastern California showing the location of all of the railroads featured in the books. The final section of Volume 2 contains an updated locomotive roster.

  Flipping through the pages, you quickly are impressed by the amount of wood and rail that once crossed this state. And, if you’ve ever had a chance to wander across Nevada, you can't help but be incredulous of the number of towns, which today are either ghost towns or mere shadows of their past glory, that once boasted major rail lines.

  For instance, the Eureka and Palisade Railroad once connected the mining metropolis of Eureka, in central Nevada, to the Central Pacific Railroad line (and later, the Southern Pacific, and Western Pacific lines) at Palisade (near Carlin in northeastern Nevada).

  Built from 1873 to 1875, the E & P experienced its greatest success during its first decade when Eureka mines were booming and the town's population topped 9,000.

  Today, a persistent railroad history buff, utilizing Myrick’s work, can find vestiges of the former E & P line (abandoned in 1938), by following State Route 278, north from Eureka, which parallels the rail bed and passes through many of the former stops.

  Perhaps the last remaining locomotive from the E & P, an 1875 Baldwin narrow gauge engine called the Number 4 (also named the "Eureka"), was sold in 1940 to Warner Brothers studios and appeared in several movies. A few years ago, it was restored by a private collector from Las Vegas and is occasionally displayed at western rail fairs.

  Myrick's series offer the fascinating stories of dozens of other railways ranging from the well-known, such as the Virginia & Truckee, to the obscure, like the Nevada Short Line, which once connected Rochester to Oreana.

  All remain essential reading for anyone interested in the rich history of Nevada’s railroads.

  To order copies of the three volumes, go to https://unpress.nevada.edu/.

The Company Town that Survived the Company: McGill, Nevada

McGill Club

  The small community of McGill, located about 12 miles north of Ely in eastern Nevada, was originally a ranch established in 1872, by a man named John Cowger. About 14 years later, he sold his holdings to William Neil McGill, who, along with former Nevada Governor Jewett Adams, operated one of the state’s largest livestock operations.

  In 1906, with the development of large copper mines in Ruth and the building of the Nevada Northern Railway, the McGill Ranch area was chosen to be the site of a massive smelter for the mining company as well as for constructing large tailings ponds. The new railroad, which reached McGill in 1908, would connect the mines to the smelter.

  Within about three years, McGill had grown into a bustling small community, with 2,200 men working at the smelter. Dozens of homes and businesses soon sprang up. To provide housing for its workers, the company built modest wooden homes for them—hence the identical, cookie-cutter appearance of many of the small, older houses found in McGill.

  By the 1920s, McGill had grown to rival nearby Ely as the largest town in White Pine County. Even a disastrous fire in 1922, which destroyed much of the smelting complex, didn't slow McGill, which peaked in 1930 when the town had more than 3,000 residents.

  The unusually long life of the Ruth/Ely area's copper mines contributed to McGill's longevity. For much of the next fifty years, McGill maintained a relatively steady population of about 2,000 people, most working for the smelter.

  One of the somewhat unique aspects about McGill was that it was a regulated company town, so many of the types of businesses that might have cropped up near a mining town, such as saloons, gambling joints, and other industries, were established in smaller settlements beyond the town limits.

  The town managed to thrive, with things remaining fairly static, until the 1950s, when the mines in Ruth ceased to be as productive. By 1983, the smelter had closed and it was demolished—including its once iconic massive brick smoke stack—in 1993.

  During its more than 70-year mining boom, McGill acquired many community amenities, including churches, a newspaper, a movie theater, a large brick school and a municipal swimming pool—actually an Olympic-size, old-fashioned watering hole.

  Additionally, as a result of the mining company's aggressive recruitment of new immigrants, McGill became one of Nevada's most ethnically diverse communities. Large numbers of Greeks, Irish, Slavs and other newcomers to the America found their way to McGill to work at the smelter.

  Yet despite the loss of its primary industry, McGill never completely faded into ghost town status. Some residents found work in the larger community of Ely and, after construction of the Ely State Prison, it became a bedroom community for prison workers. Today about 1,000 people still call McGill home.

  The town’s downtown business district remains a mix of shuttered buildings and hardy survivors, including the McGill Drug Store Museum at 11 Fourth Street (U.S. 93), which offers a snapshot into the town’s life. The drug store opened in 1915 and operated continuously until 1979.

  Gerald and Elsa Culbert owned the store from 1950 until it was closed following Gerald’s death. In 1995, the Culbert children donated the drug store, which still contained its complete inventory on the shelves, to Ely’s White Pine County Museum for preservation and display.

  These days, visitors can tour this fully intact, 20th century, small town drug store, which still has an operating soda fountain. The museum is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, go to: https://travelnevada.com/museums/mcgill-drugstore-museum/.

  Another fun place to check out is the McGill Club, a local watering hole that has been in the town for decades. In addition to a beautiful wooden backbar, it serves as community hub. Also, check out the amazing display with photos of every McGill resident who ever served in the Armed Forces.

  For more information about McGill, go to: https://www.whitepinechamber.com/p/16/mcgill-nevada.

Discover Virginia City's Architectural Gems

Storey County Courthouse

  One of the best things about visiting Virginia City is admiring the 19th century architecture scattered throughout the city. Wandering the community is a chance for a visitor to view more than a dozen elegant structures built in a variety of architectural styles.

  Fortunately, the community’s tourism authority, Visit Virginia City, aided by a grant from the state promotional agency, Travel Nevada, recently released a Architectural Walking Tour brochure that can guide visitors to 16 sites in the city.

  A fun aspect of the brochure is the use of QR codes that lead the user to an audio tour of the featured buildings and sites (two of the locations are building sites where the original structures no longer exist).

  The tour begins, appropriately, with the Fourth Ward School, one of Virginia City’s most iconic buildings. Constructed in 1876 the Second Empire style, the four-story schoolhouse is the last of its kind still standing in the U.S.

  Next up is the Savage Mansion, also constructed in the Second Empire style, which was built in 1861 to serve as a residence for a mining superintendent and mine office. That’s followed by the similarly spectacular Hearst/Mackay Mansion, erected in 1860, which served a similar purpose for mining magnate George Hearst and, later, mining millionaire John Mackay. It boasts a Colonial style with Victorian flourishes.

  Other noteworthy buildings included on the tour include:

  • Storey County Courthouse, built in 1875 and rebuilt in 1876, which boasts an elaborate Italianate style with Baroque influences. The oldest continuously operating court house in the state, this building is graced with a statue of Justice that is not blindfolded like most other representations.

  • Territorial Enterprise Building, constructed in 1876, was the home of Nevada’s first newspaper, the Territorial Enterprise. Among those who worked at the Enterprise was a young Mark Twain as well as other notable writers such as Dan DeQuille and Alf Doten. The architecture of the structure is frontier style with Corinthian Capital Pillars.

  • King-McBride Mansion was originally built in 1870, burned during the Great Fire of 1875, and was rebuilt the next year. Also constructed in the Italianate style but with Greek Revival influences, this elegant house was first owned by banker George Anson King, who ran the Nevada Bank of San Francisco and was a director on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad.

  • Graves (the Castle) Mansion, constructed in 1868, is another of the city’s most recognizable buildings. It was built by Robert Graves, superintendent of the Empire Mine, who had a love for French chateau architecture. As the brochure points out, the mansion’s signature mansard roof and dormers are outstanding examples of the Second Empire style.

  • Miner’s Union Hall, erected in 1876, was originally a single-story wooden building that also burned during the 1875 fire. Its replacement, the current building, was constructed in the Baroque style. The first floor of the structure housed the union hall while the second floor was used as a library. That library, opened in 1877, was the only public library in Virginia City for many years (patrons paid 50-cents per month to use it).

  To obtain a copy of the new brochure, contact www.VisitVirginiaCityNV.com. The entire brochure can also be accessed online at: https://visitvirginiacitynv.com/architectural-walking-tour/.

The Time the Sundance Kid Robbed A Train Near Humboldt House

 

Harry (The Sundance Kid) Longabaugh and Etta Place

     If you’re driving on Interstate 80 about 35 miles southwest of Winnemucca you might notice a sign indicating something called “Humboldt House.” If you look fast, you might be able to see a few older trees and a handful of buildings, but not much activity.

     But about 150 years ago, Humboldt House, also called Humboldt Station, was a pretty happening place. Established in 1866 as a stagecoach stop, it soon became an important stop on the Central Pacific Railroad after that line was completed in 1869.

     From the early 1870s until 1900, Humboldt House grew into a small settlement with a hotel that catered to railroad travelers. It became known as one of the best places to eat on the rail line.

     It was that very same railroad line, in fact, that brought a small group of outlaws to Nevada on July 14, 1898. At about 2:30 a.m., two men stopped the Central Pacific Railroad’s east-bound passenger train No. 1 at a spot about one-mile east of the Humboldt House.

     According to Winnemucca’s Silver State newspaper, the train was operating at a high rate of speed “when two masked robbers, one armed with a Winchester and the other with a revolver, leaped over the tender of the engine and covered Engineer (Philip) Wickland and Fireman McDermott with their weapons and demanded that they stop the train immediately.”

     After Wickland brought the train to a stop, he and McDermott were ordered to climb down from the locomotive and escort the armed men to the Wells Fargo express car. Once there, Wickland was instructed to tell the guard inside the car to open the door.

     The guard, whose last name was Hughes, shouted he wasn’t going to comply and extinguished the lights inside car. He grabbed a rifle and prepared to protect whatever valuables were inside the car’s safe.

     One of the would-be thieves then put a small stick of dynamite under the door, lit it, and reportedly said, “I guess that will fetch him.”

     Following an explosion, which demolished a part of the railcar door, the robbers called to the messenger to come out and “be a good fellow.” This time he did so and one of the thieves climbed in the car with more dynamite, which he used to successfully blow open the safe.

     After collecting any valuables from the safe, the robbers led the railroad employees a little way away from the train, then, according to Hughes, “shook hands with us and saying adios disappeared in the darkness.”

     Hughes later described the two men with one being of medium height with a reddish beard and hair, while the other was shorter and very dark. “They were both cool and seemed to know what they were about,” he told the newspaper. A third man, who remained unseen, apparently was in the shadows, holding their horses.

     So who were these train robbers? The following day, the Silver State reported that the thieves had gotten away with between $20,000 and $26,000 or, it noted, it could have been as little as $9,000. Later reports further downgraded the robbery, saying the pair only stole $450.

     Regardless, a train robbery is still a train robbery, and law enforcement immediately began searching for the culprits. A posse was formed and followed the horse tracks of the thieves but then disbanded when it became apparent the robbers had too great a head-start.

     Authorities quickly arrested two men they thought were responsible but they were found not guilty after a short trial.

     Soon, however, the Pinkerton Detective Agency settled onto new suspects: members of the notorious Wild Bunch Gang, who had been seen in the Humboldt County area in the days before the robbery.

     According to Donna B. Ernst, author of “The Sundance Kid: The Life of Harry Alonzo Longabaugh,” the Sundance Kid had a distant cousin, a bartender named Seth Longabough, living in Eureka, Nevada, so he regularly visited him in the late 1890s.

     The Pinkerton Agency soon decided the three men responsible for the robbery were Wild Bunch members Harvey “Kid Curry” Logan, George “Flat Nose” Curry, and the Sundance Kid.

     In his book, “He Rode With Butch and Sundance: The Story of Harvey ‘Kid Curry’ Logan,” author Mark T. Smokov wrote that the three men met up at Robbers Roost in Utah before heading to Nevada. According to the Pinkertons, they spent a couple days scouting the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks near Winnemucca planning their robbery.

     In the end, none of the suspected hold-up men was ever prosecuted for the crime. Logan would later kill himself after being cornered by a posse for a different crime in 1904. Flat Nose Curry would die in 1900 after being shot by a sheriff while rustling cattle. And the Sundance Kid is believed to have been killed, with his partner-in-crime, Butch Cassidy, during a shootout with federal police in Bolivia in 1908.

Artist and Writer Sydney Martinez Shares Her Love for Nevada in New Book

   It’s pretty clear that Sydney Martinez has a special relationship with the state of Nevada. As the former lead writer/photographer for Travel Nevada, the state’s tourism promotion agency, she spent about a decade traveling and photographing nearly every community in the state.

   That experience not only instilled in her a deep appreciation of the Silver State, but a thirst to explore as many as possible of the thousands of dirt roads, trails, and paths that spread across the wide Nevada landscape.

   For the past several years, Martinez, who graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a degree in journalism and minor in photography, has scratched that Nevada itch, traveling all over the state with her husband, Jonathan, and faithful dog, Elko.

   Many of their adventures have appeared on her blog, FindingNevadaWild.com, as well as on her periodic Legends of Lost Nevada podcast.

   Most recently, however, the enterprising Martinez, who is also a gifted jewelry designer (under the brand name Song Dog Silver, also sold on her website) has expanded her reach into a new venture, a beautifully-illustrated hardcover book titled “Finding Nevada Wild: The Terrain, Culture, and People of the Most Mysterious State in the West.”

   Published by Schiffer Publishing, the 320-page book is a visual treat with hundreds (or so it seems) of color photographs enhanced by Martinez’s enthusiastic prose.

   The book is not so much a guide book—although there is useful how-to information about being properly prepared before traveling on the state’s remote backroads—as it is a celebration of all the things that Martinez loves about Nevada.

   For instance, a chapter titled, “Sounds from the Sage,” addresses the beauty in heading out into the state’s wide-open landscapes and simply listening.

    “Just like the way you can see millions of stars amid true darkness, being out in Nevada’s isolated terrain affords some of the darkest, quietest experiences a person can have in the lower 48 states,” she writes. “There, you can really hear the way the world sounds.”

   Another chapter, “Hot Water,” seems to be a topic close to Martinez’s heart. She writes that searching for hot springs in the state’s outback is where she began her love affair with Nevada. “This is the place where it all started—where I found myself, and Nevada found me,” she says.

   Her chapter, “Great Drives,” is particularly fun, describing spectacular paved-road journeys, such as those through Lamoille Canyon near Elko, Rainbow Canyon in Lincoln County and the Valley of Fire Scenic Byway near Overton.

   She also describes several more rustic drives on roads that aren’t paved, such as the one leading to the Walker River State Recreation Area in Lyon County, the trip up Kingston Canyon in the middle of the state and the drive through the Monitor Valley, also in the center of the state.

   Other roads less traveled that she spotlights include Success Loop near Ely, High Rock Canyon in northern Washoe County, and the Lunar Crater Backcountry Byway.

   Martinez also takes the reader on her journeys through Nevada’s many colorful, rustic, and memorable rural bars that includes a section on the origins of the Picon Punch (with a recipe). Among the water holes captured by her lens and prose are the various Owl Clubs, the Jiggs Bar, the Overland Hotel and Saloon in Pioche, and the Outdoor Inn & Red Dog Saloon in Jarbidge.

   Several of Nevada’s most photogenic ghost towns get the Martinez treatment as do rural hotels/motels (in the chapter, “Great Stays”). The book nears the finish line with a chapter on the state’s best places to enjoy Dark Skies and a chapter on geology and rockhounding, which is a particular passion of hers.

   The concluding chapter, “Nevadans & Other Wily Wonders,” features some of the colorful people she has encountered over the years as well as brief descriptions of several petroglyph and pictograph sites she has discovered, rural art galleries, and other “wonders.”

   “Finding Nevada Wild: The Terrain, Culture, and People of the Most Mysterious State in the West,” by Sydney Martinez is available from Amazon and other online retailers as well as at Nevada bookstores. It can also be ordered on her website, which is www.findingnevadawild.com.

The Sweetest Tour in Las Vegas: The Ethel M Chocolate Factory

 

   There is definitely chocolate in the air at the Ethel M Chocolate Factory in Southern Nevada.

   That’s because the factory is where they make some of the world’s most beloved chocolates. Ethel M is the upscale candy brand of the Mars family, which is better known for its sweet products like M & M's, Mars Bars and Snickers.

   When Ethel M Chocolates first appeared in the 1980s, they were somewhat unique because they were filled with liqueur creams, including Amaretto, Bourbon and Creme de Menthe. The alcohol-flavored fillings were an interesting gimmick, but the candy gained its most rabid fans because of the quality of the chocolate.

   That’s when the company opened the Ethel M Chocolate Factory, which is its version of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory—but without the weird “Oompa-Loompas.” Tucked in the industrial section of Henderson in Southern Nevada, it’s a candy manufacturing facility that offers free tours and samples.

   During a short self-guided tour of the state-of-the-art candy plant—which is on display behind large glass windows—a recorded message explains that Ethel M uses a special formula to make its gourmet chocolate.

   According to the tour, Ethel M Chocolates are technically a milk chocolate although the company incorporates many of the characteristics and flavors associated with dark chocolate. This process results in a richer, more flavorful chocolate.

   Behind the windows, visitors can see the many machines that mold, shape, fill and prepare each chocolate. There is something hypnotic about watching hundreds of little, round chocolates marching on a conveyor belt.

   Over the years, while the liqueur chocolates have continued to be popular, Ethel M has broadened its product line to include other items, such as white chocolate, chocolate coins (sold in clever packages to resemble slot machines) and truffles.

   No surprise that the best part of the Ethel M Chocolate factory tour is the end when visitors are deposited in a gift shop and given a free chocolate. Picking one is difficult because there are so many types of chocolates but for those unable to make up their minds, there are always sampler boxes to take home.

   Additionally, the adjacent Cactus Garden Café offers delicious baked and chocolate-dipped treats, along with a variety of milkshakes and hot chocolate drinks.

   Outside of the factory, Ethel M has another attraction, a three-acre Botanical Cactus Garden exhibiting more than 350 different species of cactus, succulents and desert plants from the southwest and various deserts throughout the world.

   To a non-cactus expert, this place seems like a prickly Garden of Eden. You can find a wide variety of plants ranging from Beavertail and Purple Pancake Prickly Pears to Golden Barrels and Saguaros.

   A series of concrete pathways wind through the Botanical Cactus Garden. Interpretive signs provide details about each plant.

   Ethel M Chocolates and Botanical Cactus Garden is located seven miles from the Las Vegas Strip. Drive 5.5 miles east of the Strip on Tropicana Avenue to Mountain Vista. Turn right on Mountain Vista and drive 2 miles to Sunset Way (past the factory). Turn left at the traffic light into Green Valley Business Park, then left again on Cactus Garden Drive.

   The factory and gardens are open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is free.

   For more information, go to: https://www.ethelm.com/en-us/locations/henderson-flagship?srsltid=AfmBOorPh5t5JlVhZHG95fKnwBC_RS-3QaLZdC56ttwJnDhtNRECoQX9.

Lovelock Played an Important Role in the Settling of Nevada

 

The famed Round Courthouse in Lovelock, Nevada

   Sometimes it’s easy to overlook a place like Lovelock. It’s about halfway between Winnemucca and Reno, so many travelers on Interstate 80 pass by it on their way to somewhere else.

   But Lovelock is a community filled with rich history that deserves to be explored. Located about 90 miles east of Reno, the town traces its roots to the 1840s, when travelers on the Humboldt Trail (or Emigrant Trail) began stopping in the area for water and grass.

   Because of the great abundance of the latter, the region became known as Big Meadows and was an essential stop for travelers who needed to recharge before continuing south through the treacherous 40-Mile Desert.

   Additionally, in the 1850s and 60s, several significant mining discoveries were made in the area, including at Unionville and Rochester.

   In the 1860s, Englishman George Lovelock established a large ranching operation in the valley. In 1868, he gave 85 acres to the Central Pacific Railroad for a townsite, which was named in his honor. Originally called “Lovelock’s,” in the 1920s the name was shortened to simply, Lovelock.

  As mining dwindled, agriculture and ranching became more important. At the turn of the century, Lovelock was the location of the ranch of John G. Taylor, owner of one of the west’s great cattle empires. At one time, Taylor owned 60,000 head of sheep, 8,000 cattle, 130,000 acres of land and leased another half million acres.

  Additionally, the meadows proved ideal for growing crops such as barley, wheat, oats and alfalfa. The latter continues to be an important crop for local farmers.

   Wandering around the streets of Lovelock, which, sadly, contains many vacant lots and empty building, you’ll find a number of structures with history, including:

   • The Lovelock Depot, on the corner of Main Street and West Broadway Avenue, was constructed in 1880 by the Southern Pacific Railroad. The building is the only remaining example of a series of residential #2-style two-story depots erected through Nevada by the railroad. The building has been restored and is now owned by the city of Lovelock, which leases out space to commercial businesses.

   • The First National Bank Building (1905) in the former heart of Lovelock’s commercial district. It was originally the home of the First National Bank and the Lovelock Tribune newspaper.

   • The Lovelock Post Office on Dartmouth Avenue was built in 1937 and is considered a prime example of the Moderne architectural style. Inside, it boasts a large mural that the Smithsonian Institute has called one of the best representations of early Western art. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

   • The Pershing County Courthouse at the intersection of Main Street, Western Avenue and Central Avenue was constructed between 1919 and 1920. It has an unusual round design (one of only a handful of round courthouses ever built). Designed by famed Nevada architect Frederic DeLongchamps, it incorporates a Classical Revival style of architecture and was patterned after the Pantheon in Rome.

   • The Marzen House Museum, located west of the downtown off Cornell Avenue, was built in 1874 and is one of the area’s oldest homes. It was constructed by Colonel Joseph Marzen, owner of the Big Meadow Ranch, one of the region’s largest cattle operations. Restored in the 1980s, it now houses a fine local museum containing displays that tell the history of Lovelock. (For more info, go to: pershingcounty.net/community/marzen_house_museum/index.php)

   An excellent source of information about Lovelock and its history is the History of Lovelock (& Pershing County) Facebook group. It is a public group but you must request permission to join. To access it, go to: www.facebook.com/groups/lovelocknevada.