Twelve Mile House, Nevada

In 1859 Thomas Wheeler built a stage stop on the road from Carson City to Aurora. Many mile houses were named after their location on the road or in relationship to other stations. Twelve Mile House is located 12 miles from the prior stage stop in Genoa. It is also located 12 miles from Cradlebaugh Bridge where the road crosses the Carson River. Twelve Mile House has also been called Wheeler’s and the Tisdell House.

Twelve Mile House is situated is at the south end of Carson Valley where the road begins to climb into the hills. This location is an important crossroads. The road south continued towards Auroroa, Bodie and Goldfield. The road to the west continued to Fairview and Woodfords where it joined the Carson River Route of the emigrant trail. The road north leads to Nevada’s oldest settlement, Genoa, Carson City, and Virginia City.

The older section of the station is constructed of local stone. It has wood window frames and shutters inset in the stone. A new portion was built of red brick. There were several outbuildings at Twelve Mile House but these have succumbed to the elements.

Mile houses and stage stations were important locations where travelers could rest, have a meal and obtain supplies. Stage travel for passengers and light freight continued in some areas of Nevada into the 1900’s when automobiles became more available.

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Twelve Mile House is now located on Washoe Tribal land. It is in the parking lot of the Washoe Roads Department across the street from the Washoe Tribal Office.

I visited Twelve Mile House with my friend Cherie. We combined our visit with photographing bald eagles in Markleeville and lunch at Woodfords by the old Pony Express station.

Visited March 4, 2020

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References

• Basso, Dave. Nevada Historical Marker Guidebook. Nevada Publications, 1986. Page 125.
• Nation, Nyle. The Pine Nut Chronicle: The History and Adventures of Mining in Douglas County Nevada. Pine Nut Press, 2000. Pages 19-20.
• Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. Nevada Publications, 1970. Page 61.

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