Camels were imported into the United States for military purposes in the mid-1850's. Lt. Edward Beale of the U.S. Army tested the animals for caravan operations in the deserts of the Southwest. The experiment was not successful and the camels . . . — — Map (db m41082) HM
On Main Street at Lincoln Highway (Interstate 50), on the left when traveling east on Main Street.
By 1880 the ores of the Comstock had dwindled and the men who founded the Virginia & Truckee Railroad and owned most of the mills on the Comstock needed to restore their high level profits. Mining bonanzas in the southern deserts set a plan afoot to . . . — — Map (db m103171) HM
On U.S. 50 near Main Street, on the right when traveling north.
The legendary Paiute Leader; friend and guide to pioneers; breveted a "Captain" by John C. Fremont; gave his name to a valley, river and town; died near here in 1860.
Dedicated July 20, 1974
By E Clampus Vitus
Julia C. Bulette . . . — — Map (db m30865) HM
On Main Street at Dayton Valley Road, on the right when traveling north on Main Street.
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. The ditch was used for placer mining. The Chinese soon began reworking the placers, earning a living from those . . . — — Map (db m69688) HM
On Pike Street at Logan Alley, on the left when traveling south on Pike Street.
Dayton was the first seat of Lyon County and had one of the first courthouses built in Nevada. Finished in 1864, local residents celebrated the new two-story brick building and its Italianate styling as an important architectural benchmark for a . . . — — Map (db m143630) HM
On Main Street at Dayton Valley Road, on the right when traveling north on Main Street.
Dayton, one of the earliest settlements in Nevada was first known as a stopping place on the river for California-bound pioneers. Coming in from the desert they rested here before continuing westward.
In 1849, gold was found at the mouth of Gold . . . — — Map (db m69687) HM
On Cemetery Road, on the right when traveling east.
Founded in 1851, this is one of the oldest constantly maintained cemeteries in the State of Nevada. The trail to the Mother Lode passed directly in front and the wagon tracks can still be seen with careful observation.
James Finney (Ole . . . — — Map (db m89439) HM
On Shady Lane at Logan Alley, on the right when traveling south on Shady Lane.
In 1865 Lyon County built this imposing stone school building for the residents of Dayton, then the county seat. It is the second oldest schoolhouse in Nevada and is the oldest such structure to remain in its original location. The building served . . . — — Map (db m143635) HM
Born in Virginia in 1817, an often-inebriated prospector named James Finney was known as "Old Virginia" or "Old Virginny" to his friends. He lived in a tent dug into the side of the hill, which would become known as Johntown, located two miles from . . . — — Map (db m89525) HM
On Main Street at Cemetery Road, on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
Spafford Hall built this station and trading post in the early 1850's to accommodate emigrants bound for California. Hall, who was the first permanent settler, was severely injured in a hunting accident in 1854 and sold the station to one of his . . . — — Map (db m89514) HM
James Finney, State of Virginia native, died Chinatown Dayton June 20, 1861. About 44 years old, one of the first placer gold miners in Gold Canon, arriving in 1850 or 1851. Old Virginny was so revered by other Comstock miners, they named Vrginia . . . — — Map (db m89532) HM
On Lincoln Highway (U.S. 50) south of 4th Avenue, on the right when traveling south.
The Carson River While camping in 1849, waiting for snow to melt in the Sierra Nevada, frontiersman and wagon train guide Abner Blackburn used a butcher knife to dig Nevada's first-found gold from a creek bed at the mouth of Gold Cañon. The . . . — — Map (db m160800) HM
On Lincoln Highway (U.S. 50) just east of Bunnyranch Road, on the right when traveling west.
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. . . . — — Map (db m173904) HM
On West Main Street at Pike Street, on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
{Obverse:}
Dedicated September 15, 2001
NEVADA
Added Station
Jul. 1, 1861 - Nov. 20, 1861
By
Bennetts Family
James Stretesky
Dayton Historic Society
Don, Nancy, Jody & Jeff Dallas
Robert & Rae Marie Foster Family . . . — — Map (db m29750) HM
On Cemetery Road/Main Street at Shady Lane on Cemetery Road/Main Street.
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). William Prouse, a member of a passing emigrant party, made a second discovery . . . — — Map (db m143642) HM
On 65 Pike Street north of Main Street, on the left when traveling north.
The first community building was built by the Odd Fellows in 1863 costing $30,000. Lodge offices and Hall were on the second floor. The Odeon Saloon and Billiard Parlour occupied the west side of the street floor, hosting such notables as Mark . . . — — Map (db m89448) HM
On Lincoln Highway (U.S. 50) at Segale Road, on the right when traveling west on Lincoln Highway.
Sutro was a town, a tunnel, and a man. The well-planned community was headquarters for the Sutro Drainage Tunnel.
German-born Adolph Sutro came to the Comstock in 1860. He advocated a drainage tunnel, visualizing development of Comstock ore . . . — — Map (db m175810) HM
Near Main Street at Shady Lane, on the left when traveling west.
Had its beginning in May, 1869, when Fred Birdsall built a half-mile horse drawn railroad from the Lyon Mill of Dayton to the Gold Canyon Mine Tailings. On July 11, 1881, Engine No. 1, the “Ernie Birdsall,” first ran on a 3 foot gauge . . . — — Map (db m160797) HM
On Pike Street south of Tyler Street, on the right when traveling south.
The Misfits is a contemporary western drama filmed in 1960 and is best known for the final film roles of movie legends Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. It was directed by John Huston and written by playwright Arthur Miller. In 1956, Miller . . . — — Map (db m201467) HM
On Main Street at Dayton Valley Road, on the right when traveling north on Main Street.
Dayton was an important point on the Pony Express route. The site of the old station is approximately 200 yards northwest near the old firehouse. — — Map (db m69689) HM
On Main Street just west of Lincoln Highway (U.S. 50), on the right when traveling west.
The Carson and Colorado Railroad (C&C) The Carson and Colorado Railroad (C&C), completed in 1881, operated on a 3-foot narrow-gauge track. Nicknamed the "Slim Princess," it provided transportation from Mound House, Nevada to Keeler, California . . . — — Map (db m160798) HM
On Main Street at Pike Street, on the left when traveling west on Main Street.
The original Union Hotel was located across the street. It was rebuilt here in 1870 after a fire destroyed the old hotel. The former post office site originally housed the dining room and barber shop. The freestanding rock wall is the original . . . — — Map (db m89513) HM
On Main Street just west of Lincoln Highway (U.S. 50), on the right when traveling west.
Dayton (known as Chinatown 1857-1861) Dayton is the site of Nevada's first gold discovery (1849) and the state's first permanent Euro-American settlement, founded after miners created a tent town at the mouth of Gold Cañon in 1851. Initially . . . — — Map (db m160799) HM
