Dayton in Lyon County, Nevada — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Mound House

Photographed by Paulette Nelson, December 12, 2019

1. Mound House Marker

Inscription. Mound House was located one-half mile north of this point. 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. In 1877, a post office was established. Mound House came into its own in 1880, when the V & T began construction of a narrow-gauge railroad from here to the mining camps of western Nevada and the Owens Valley region of California. Named the Carson & Colorado, it turned Mound House into a booming shipping point.

The Southern Pacific Railroad purchased the C & C from the V & T in 1900, just prior to the Tonopah silver strike. In 1905, the Southern Pacific built a short line from its new station at Hazen, on the main line, to intersect the C & C at Fort Churchill. The Hazen cutoff took most of the booming Tonopah-Goldfield business away from the V & T.

From 1900 to 1920, extensive gypsum mining and milling operations, to produce plaster, were carried on immediately northwest of Mound House.

The narrow-gauge line was abandoned from Mound House to Fort Churchill in 1934 and the V & T track from Carson City to Virginia

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

City in 1938. Within a few years, Mound House had disappeared.

Erected by State Historic Preservation Office and Julia C. Bulette Chapter E Clampus Vitus. (Marker Number 61.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. In addition, it is included in the E Clampus Vitus series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1871.

Location. 39° 12.867′ N, 119° 40.163′ W. Marker is in Dayton, Nevada, in Lyon County. It is on Lincoln Highway (U.S. 50) just east of Bunnyranch Road, on the right when traveling west. Marker is located approximately 11 miles southwest of Dayton on the north side of the highway. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Dayton NV 89403, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Sierra Nevada

and in Greater Reno Area.

It is also in the American Mountain West.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers

Photographed by Paulette Nelson, December 12, 2019

2. Mound House Marker

are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Pony Express Route (approx. ¼ mile away); The New State of Nevada (approx. ¼ mile away); Empire and the Carson River Mills (approx. 2.7 miles away); Empire Cemetery (approx. 2.8 miles away); Johnson Cutoff - A New Road / Carson Trail - To Skin the Poor Emigrant (approx. 3 miles away); Johntown (approx. 3½ miles away); Ill-Fated Brothers - Hosea and Ethan Grosh (approx. 3.7 miles away); Silver City Schoolhouse (approx. 3.8 miles away).

Credits. This page was last revised on May 25, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 17, 2019, by Paulette Nelson of N Las Vegas, Nevada. This page has been viewed 560 times since then and 50 times this year. Last updated on May 25, 2021, by Matthew J Ebert of Gerlach, NV. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 17, 2019, by Paulette Nelson of N Las Vegas, Nevada. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.