Markers: 18

Lyon

There's a piece of ground wedged between historic Carson City and Churchill County that even some lifelong Nevadans tend to forget. The people of Lyon County make due just fine without the rest of Nevada butting into their business. Here's a county with just the right mix. No spendy real estate like in Douglas County. No challenging tax hikes like Washoe and Carson City. No flamboyant touristy boom that floods Storey County. Lyon County sits alone placidly in its facile and great open spaces! Its unique fuse of urban closeness and rural remoteness seam it strangely together in mostly urbanized western Nevada.

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See the description on the map below for each marker's locals' tips and tricks!

- 7 - Dayton

"Dayton, one of the earliest settlements in Nevada was first known as a stopping place on the river for California-bound pioneers."

- 61 - Mound House

"Originally constructed in 1871 as a station and siding on the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, it served for some time simply as a wood and water stop."

- 74 - Wellington

"Following the mining boom in the Aurora District in 1860, Jack Wright and Leonard Hamilton put up a bridge across the West Walker River and established a stage station at this location."

- 85 - Sutro

"Sutro was a town, a tunnel and a man. The orderly town was headquarters for the Sutro drainage tunnel."

- 113 - Wabuska

"In 1881, the town served as the principal Mason Valley supply and distribution center on the newly-constructed narrow-gauge Carson and Colorado Railroad."

- 127 - Courthouse Site (1865-1907)

"When the courthouse burned in 1907, the seat was moved to Yerington."

- 163 - Chinatown (Early Name of Dayton)

"The first Chinese were brought to this site in 1856 to build the "Reese" ditch from the Carson River to the entrance of Gold Canyon."

- 177 - Desert Well Station (Overland Mail and Stage Station)

"Desert Well Station, which was later known as Nelsons, achieved a measure of fame when Mark Twain wrote of his experience there in Roughing It"

- 186 - Union Hotel & Post Office

"The free-standing rock wall is the original wall of the Overland Stage Station and Pony Express Stop."

- 192 - Buckland's Station

"He also constructed the first bridge across the Carson River downstream from Genoa."

- 199 - Camels in Dayton

"Camels were imported into the United States for military purposes in the mid-1850's."

- 200 - Hall's Station

"Spafford Hall built a station and trading post in the early 1850's to accommodate emigrants bound for California."

- 223 - Devil's Gate

"This rugged reef of metamorphic rock was once one of the famous landmarks of the Nevada Territory."

- 233 - Dayton Cemetery

"Founded in 1851, this is one of the oldest constantly maintained cemeteries in the State of Nevada."

- 255 - Wilson Canyon

"A Northern Paiute named Wovoka was raised with the Wilson boys and took the name Jack Wilson."

- 257 - Nevada's First Gold Discovery

"In July 1849, Abner Blackburn, a former member of the Mormon Battalion, made the first gold discovery in what is now Nevada near this site (see the canyon to the right)."

- 262 - Dayton School House - 1865

"In 1865, Lyon County built this imposing school building for the residents of Dayton, then the county seat."

- 264 - Silver City School House

"Children were educated here for nearly a century until the school closed in 1958."

Western Nevada Outback

Just as varied as Lyon's terrain are its nineteen markers; the basis for many being with the "transition" of Nevada - a time when the Nevada outback was trodded by some of the state's first progressors. Since many of its markers are situated in the north end of the county, Dayton is the obvious choice to work from, considering a good portion of markers are located here. Carson City, only six miles from the action or even Virginia City, twelve miles to the north, are other great bases if you plan to tackle both two to three counties in one trip. Before venturing away, don't forget about the two markers on the Comstock. Yes, Silver City is technically (and as one local put it "proudly") in Lyon County. As you head east on US 50, prepare to experience Lyon County's unique outback and the county's few renegade markers. Head south on US 95 ALT toward Yerington and the often-forgotten south end of Lyon for Markers 74 and 255. In renegade fashion, Lyon welcome the oddball, the promiscuous, and those who tread a different path. This one's an ambiguous, irregular and unsealed box full of surprises

Lyon County is the only county where all three "exotic" Sierra rivers flow: the Carson, Truckee, and Walker Rivers.

Founded: November 2, 1861
Size: 2,016 sq. mi.
Rank: 14th out of 17
Population: 62,601 (2022)
Rank: 4th out of 17
Density: 26 sq. mi.
Rank: 5th out of 17
Largest Community: Fernley (23,936)
County Seat: Yerington (3,418)
Highest Point: Middle Sister (Northeast Ridge) (10,560')

Known for ...
First Gold Discovery, Comstock Historic District, Fort Churchill State Historic Park, Lahontan State Recreation Area, Wilson Canyon, Three Sierra Rivers