Henry Van Sickle

Henry Van Sickle. . Henry Van Sickle, 1822-1894 , Henry Van Sickle arrived in the Carson Valley in 1852, settling near Genoa. Before Nevada became a state in 1864, and when the area was still part of the Utah Territory, Van Sickle began welcoming weary travelers – and Pony Express riders – to his Van Sickle Station, located along the Carson Route of the Overland Emigrant Trail., An Entrepreneurial Spirit , Always the entrepreneur, Van Sickle served as the first toll master of the Kingsbury Grade wagon road, built in 1860. The road shortened the travel distance by 15 miles between Sacramento, California and the Comstock Lode’s silver mines in Virginia City, Nevada. Saving a day’s travel was well worth the $17.50 round trip toll. In 1863, toll receipts netted $190,000. Van Sickle sold the road to Douglas County for $1,000 in 1889., After surviving “long haired” Sam Brown’s murder attempt in 1861, Van Sickle killed the famous outlaw and became a Carson Valley leader for the next 20 years. In 1894, Van Sickle died at age 72 when his runaway horses hit a heavy gate post at his ranch, crushing him. He is buried in the Genoa Cemetery., “All who came over the mountains stopped for a brief rest at Van Sickle’s place.” , - Genoa Weekly Courier, 1894 - , Van Sickle Bi-State Park