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| Laws Railroad Museum and Historical Site |
Mostly forgotten today, the Carson & Colorado Railroad (C & C) was once one of Nevada's more successful rail lines.
Founded in 1880 by many of the same partners who owned the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, the C & C stretched nearly 300 miles from Mound House to the Eastern California town of Keeler.
The C & C ceased operations in 1960, but some of its rolling stock, equipment, and buildings have been preserved at the Laws Railroad Museum and Historical Site near Bishop, California.
To reach the Laws Museum, head two hours south of Carson City on Highway 395 toward Bishop. Turn east on Highway 6, just north of Bishop, and continue for four miles. The museum is located off the highway on Silver Cyn Road.
The Laws Museum is actually a combination railroad facility and local historical society. The C & C artifacts include the original Laws depot, a water tank, roundtable, motorized passenger car, locomotive No. 9 and assorted boxcars and other rolling stock.
Additionally, a handful of historic Bishop-area homes and movie set buildings, which were used in westerns filmed in the region (including "Nevada Smith" and "Will Penney"), have been relocated to Laws and converted into display space.
The community of Laws grew up around the C & C railroad station located there. It was named for R.J. Laws, assistant superintendent of the railroad. By 1890, about 300 people lived in Laws.
In the beginning, the C & C's owners hoped to take advantage of mining booms in Candelaria and Bodie. Unfortunately, by the time the railroad reached the vicinity of those mining towns both areas had started to decline.
The company had planned to build the line from Mound House on the Carson River to Fort Mojave on the Colorado River (hence the name Carson & Colorado), but, due to uncertain finances, stopped at Keeler, about 140 miles north of Fort Mojave.
Indeed, one of the most famous remarks about the C & C was uttered by Darius O. Mills, part of the railroad’s ownership group, who, upon riding to Keeler on an inspection tour, said that the railroad had been built either 300 miles too long-or 300 years too soon.
In 1900, the C & C was absorbed by the Southern Pacific Railroad, which, in 1905, incorporated the railroad into a new corporation that it called the Nevada & California Railway. In 1910, the line was finally extended between Keeler and Fort Mojave.
During those years, the line experienced its most profitable period because of the active mining booms in Tonopah and Goldfield, which were connected to the line via the short-lived Tonopah & Goldfield Railroad.
The Laws to Keeler portion of the route was finally abandoned on April 29, 1960 because it had become unprofitable.
At the urging of local legislators, the Southern Pacific donated the equipment and facility at Laws to the City of Bishop and Inyo County. The museum officially opened in 1966.
A walk around the Laws site is a chance to learn the rich history of the area. Nearly a dozen buildings are spread out across the site, each filled with historic artifacts and displays.
The visitor center, which includes a well-stocked gift shop, is located inside of a false front western structure that was built by Paramount Studios for the movie, "Nevada Smith," which starred Steve McQueen.
Adjacent are other western-style structures, also former movie sets, which now house historic displays ranging from doctor's tools and utensils, to a General Store that contains antique tins, scales, grinders, cash registers and other items.
A 1915 chicken coop now houses a nice collection of brands, saddles, cowboy gear and a turn-of-the-century horse-drawn hearse that was once used in Bishop.
The former Laws Post Office has been preserved as well as an old miner's cottage, now known as the Stove House, which is filled with antique wood stoves.
The Print Shop contains all of the original desks, presses and other equipment used between 1870-1885 to produce the Inyo Independent newspaper, which later became the Inyo Register.
The Pioneer House, built in 1920, houses a schoolhouse display (desks, photos, etc.) as well as a nice gun collection, a large camera collection and historic telephone equipment.
Other buildings contain an extensive Indian basket and arrowhead collection, a huge bottle collection, and a re-creation of a 1920s ranch house, with antique furnishings.
The restored depot, built in 1883, is the centerpiece of the facility and still contains its original benches, lights and counters. The luggage room has been well stocked with period chests, footlockers and suitcases, while the main room offers two nice model railroad exhibits.
For more information, go to www.lawsmuseum.org.
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