Overton in Callville Bay in Clark County, Nevada — The American Mountains (Southwest)

A Town at the Bottom

Lake Meade National Recreation Area

— National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior —

A Town at the Bottom Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Karen Key, October 4, 2007

1. A Town at the Bottom Marker

Inscription.
About two miles in front of you, the remains of the town of Callville lie buried in silt on the bottom of Lake Mead. Originally developed as a port on the Colorado River to supply goods to Mormon settlements, Callville had long been a desolate ruin by the time Lake Mead's rising water swallowed it up.

In December of 1864, Anson Call traveled overland past this point to the north bank of the Colorado, where he selected a town site along a horseshoe bend of the river. Call built a landing and a large warehouse for cargo that was to come up the Colorado by steamboat.

Callville never really got going. Isolation, competition, tough upstream navigation, and a transcontinental railroad dogged the town's progress. A steamboat finally landed at Callville in 1866, but two years later the town was abandoned.

Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical month for this entry is December 1864.

Location. 36° 8.526′ N, 114° 43.307′ W. Marker is in Callville Bay, Nevada, in Clark County. It is in Overton. Marker can be reached from Callville Road, on the left when traveling east. Marker is next to the Callville

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Bay Marina store. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Las Vegas NV 89124, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. They Died to Make the Desert Bloom (approx. 8.7 miles away); They Laboured that Millions might see a Brighter Day (approx. 8.7 miles away); Dr. Elwood Mead (approx. 8.7 miles away); a different marker also named Dr. Elwood Mead (approx. 8.7 miles away); Hoover Dam and Lake Mead (approx. 8.7 miles away); Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium (approx. 8.7 miles away); Hoover Dam (approx. 8.7 miles away); The Hoover Dam Construction Mascot (approx. 8.8 miles away).

Also see . . .
1. Lake Mead National Recreation Area. (Submitted on December 2, 2007, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California.)
2. Callville Bay Resort & Marina. (Submitted on December 2, 2007, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California.)
3. The Autobiography of Anson Call (Selections from his journal up to 1839). (Submitted on December 2, 2007, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California.)

Photographed By Karen Key, October 4, 2007

2. A Town at the Bottom Marker

Photographed By Karen Key, October 4, 2007

3. Anson Call

Anson Call, a Mormon convert from Vermont was an experienced colonizer admired for his peaceful negotiation with native tribes.

Plat Map of Callville image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Karen Key, October 4, 2007

4. Plat Map of Callville

The original plat map of Callville (below) shows that Callville's founders planned for a sizeable town. Their plans never materialized. Note that Callsville was in Arizona Territory. Today the site is in Nevada, beneath the water of Lake Mead.

Route of Anson Gall, 1864 image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Karen Key, October 4, 2007

5. Route of Anson Gall, 1864

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 2, 2007, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California. This page has been viewed 2,706 times since then and 134 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on December 2, 2007, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California.