The Vastness of Nevada Becomes Very Real in Railroad Valley

One of the oil-pumping stations found in Railroad Valley. (Photo courtesy of Farmartin)

   There are no trains in Railroad Valley. In fact, the long, narrow valley located northeast of Tonopah via U.S. 6, has never had a train.

   The name is believed to have derived either from a proposed narrow-gauge railroad line that would have passed through the valley (stretching from Elko down to Lincoln County) or from a large gravel bar, a remnant from an ancient lake, at the northwest end of the valley that resembled a railroad grade.

   Whatever the origins, the valley has been inhabited for nearly 12,000 years, according to archaeologists, with the earliest residents being the Clovis people and, in more recent times, by members of the Western Shoshone people.

   The first non-Native Americans to pass through the valley included the explorer Jedediah Smith, who, in 1826-27, led a small expedition searching for a mythical waterway (Buenaventura River) that allegedly flowed through the unexplored western territories to the Pacific Ocean.

   In mid-June 1827, Smith wrote of crossing the then-unnamed valley, which had little water or grass. He said game was scarce, although he was able to kill a rabbit for food.

   The next non-Native to enter the valley was the Great Pathfinder, John C. Fremont, who lead an expedition through the region in 1854. Again, he noted the lack of vegetation and game, and pretty much passed through as quickly as he could.

   Prospectors were the next to explore the valley, following the discovery of silver and gold ore in Austin (1862), Hamilton (1867), Troy (1867) and Grant (1868). Soon, smaller but promising discoveries were made in the mountains surrounding the Railroad Valley, in the Grant, Quinn Canyon, and Reveille ranges.

   With the arrival of the mining camps, came the need for services, and ranching operations began to crop up in the valley.

   According to Robert D. McCracken and Jeanne Sharp Howerton, authors of “A History of Railroad Valley, Nevada,” within two decades, from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s, “the Native Americans living in the area quickly lost their best food-producing sites,” including foraging and hunting lands at Duckwater, Currant Creek, Blue Eagle, and Lockes as large sections of the valley were fenced.

   By the 1890s, portions of the valley had been developed with various ranches producing hay or being used for grazing cattle as well as for salt mining, and other agricultural uses. McCracken and Howerton note that the valley became known as “good stock-raising country with large springs and abundant forage for cattle.”

   Additionally, starting in the late 1860s, the mountains around the valley were harvested for their timber, particularly white pine and fir. Logging apparently continued in the mountains to the east until the 1920s.

   The presence of geothermal springs also contributed to the valley’s development, particularly to the north end, where Big Warm Springs is located. This portion of the valley is now part of the Duckwater Indian Reservation, which was established in the 1940s.

   Perhaps the most important development in Railroad Valley in the mid-20th century was the commercial drilling and pumping of oil. Starting in 1954, Shell Oil began pumping oil in the Eagle Springs area of the valley.

   By the 1990s, Railroad Valley wells had produced nearly 38 million barrels of oil from a handful of wells. Even today, the first thing travelers on U.S. 6, which traverses Railroad Valley, notice are the handful of oil well pumps rising up and down methodically.

   Additionally, ranching still hangs on in the valley and mining companies periodically explore for new discoveries in the surrounding ranges.

   As one of the largest valleys in Nevada—Railroad Valley measures some 120 miles long and between 9 and 12 miles wide—the valley remains a vast and wide-open landscape that truly defines the state’s basin and range areas.

   For more information about the valley, check out Robert D. McCracken and Jeanne Sharp Howerton’s excellent “A History of Railroad Valley, Nevada,” published by the Central Nevada Historical Society and available at online book sellers.