Under Construction: More information and reformating are in process
Visiting a Nevada ghost town often brings to mind a long dusty trip, bouncing around in 4×4 over miles and miles of washboard roads. While that may be true for some ghost towns, others sit on a paved highway, comfortably accessible to everyone. Washoe City boomed as the Washoe County seat, but after the arrival of rail service and mills relocating to the Carson River, Washoe City was ghosted within ten years. Today it is intersected by Old Highway 395, the cemetery serving as one of the few reminders of a once thriving town. I drove past Washoe City for decades without realizing the history alongside the highway.
Born of the Comstock
Washoe City was founded in 1860 to supply lumber to mines in Virginia City. Washoe Lake provided unlimited hydropower and mills were constructed to process ore from the Comstock Lode.
Dozens of mule freight wagons made the trip each day between Washoe City and Virginia City. They transported lumber, food and other supplies to Virginia City and carried ore for processing on the return trip.
Washoe City is said to have the first stock exchange on the west coast, predating the San Fransisco stock exchange by a few years. Washoe City also had mills to process Comstock ore. In 1861, the Atchison mill was constructed. The New York, Buekeye, and Minnesota mills soon followed.
Newspaper News and Curse of the Washoe Times
Washoe Cities’ first newspaper was the Washoe Times, a paper that seemed to curse its owners. George Derickson published the first edition of the Washoe Times on October 18, 1862. General James Allen edited the twenty-four-column paper. A subscription for the weekly periodical was $5 annually.
Founder Derickson was shot and killed on January 23, 1863, by H.F. Swayze. Allen assumed the paper on February 12, 1863, but died seven months later on October 3, Nevada Day, at the Nevada State Fair. John K. Lovejoy assumed the Washoe Times on December 5, 1863. He discontinued the paper, using the printing materials to start his newspaper, Old Pah Utah.
Washoe County
In 1861 Washoe City became the county seat for Washoe County; on July 3, 1862, a post office opened. The town quickly had stores, hotels, saloons, restaurants and livery stables. Professional services included physicians, dentists and attorneys. Later schools, hospitals, churches, fraternal clubs and a courthouse were constructed. At its height, Washoe City had 6,000 residents. Many residents were transient and spent only part of their time in town.
With the completion of the Virginia and Truckee Rail Road in 1869, mines began to process ore in Empire City and along the Carson River. Washoe City’s decline was rapid; within a few years, the population decreased to 2500.
In 1871 after a legal battle in the Nevada Supreme Court, Washoe City lost the county seat to Reno. Washoe City residents then petitioned the legislature to secede from Washoe County and join Ormsby County, but their efforts were fruitless. The population continued to decline, and in 1880 only 200 residents remained. The post office was renamed Washoe in 1894. Service continued sporadically until 1920, when service was transferred to Steamboat.
Today there is little left to mark the location of the former Washoe county seat. The courthouse was dismantled in 1873 and the bricks were used in Carson City. The beautiful Masonic and Odd Fellows Halls were abandoned and later collapsed. South of town are the remains of Ophir Mill.
Washoe City Cemetery
The cemetery is the most notable reminder of Washoe City. It sits on Old Highway 395 with the new Highway 395/I-580 in the background.
The cemetery is large and spread out. Many graves are marked only by a circle or pile of rocks. Native vegetation has taken over the grounds.
Crosses were erected on a number of unmarked graves. Many are marked “UNK” for unknown. I wonder if this was an Eagle Scout project similar to Empire City.
Several graves have ornate metal fences and marble headstones. One unusual grave had a stacked rock border. In all the cemeteries I have visit I have never seen a similar grave.
Some graves are marked very simply with a cross or wood arch. If these were engraved with a name it has faded in time. Many of the small arch markers were on infant sized graves.
Washoe Valley Old Cabin
If you have taken Old Highway 395 through Pleasant Valley, you likely noticed this log cabin at the old Cattleman’s Restaurant. It is a few hundred feet from the Washoe City Cemetery. It took some research, but I learned it is not a pioneer cabin. It was built in the first half of the 1900s for a movie set and later converted into a residence.
Washoe Valley
Two mansions from the Comstock Era are close to Washoe City. Winters Mansion lies north on Old Highway 395. It is a private residence but has several markers at the site.
Winter’s Mansion
Bowers Mansion is a Washoe County Park. Tours of the mansion and outbuildings are available in summer and fall. Hubby, the kids, and I visited the last weekend tours that were open for the season and ended up with a private tour.
Washoe City is part of a nice loop around Washoe Valley, including Lakeview, Mill Station, Franktown, and Ophir. A stop at the nearby Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory is a treat for kids and adults.
Visited 6-28-2020
References
- Basso, Dave. Nevada Historical Marker Guidebook. Nevada Publications, 1986. Page 166.
- Carlson, Helen S. Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary. University of Nevada Press, 1974. Page 242.
- Ghost Towns: Washoe City
- Legends of America: First Train Robbery On The Pacific Coast
- Lingenfelter, Richard E and Karen Rix Gash. The Newspapers of Nevada: A history and bibliography 1854-1979. University of Nevada Press, 1984. Pages 275-276.
- Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. Nevada Publications, 1970. Page 43.
- Smith, Grant H. The History of the Comstock Lode. University of Nevada Press, 1997. Page 45.
- University of Nevada Libraries: Washoe City
- Western Nevada Historic Photo Collection: Washoe City
- Wikipedia: Washoe City, Nevada
Steve says
Excellent. Thank you
Tami says
Thank you again Stephen
Karen Melarkey says
Great photos and information. Just one correction…Bowers Mansion is not located on Franktown Road. It’s on the old main highway (Old Hwy 395). Thank you for the research!
Tami says
Thank you for pointing that out. I think of that area as Franktown as I always take that route. I double-checked, and it isn’t on Old Highway 395, it is on Bowers Mansion Road. I didn’t know that was considered a separate road. I updated my article to just say it is a Washoe County Park. Thanks again.
Ann Dunn Bingham says
I have a copy of the original document showing who are interred in the graves in the Old Washoe city cemetery. It was made by Lorenzo Smith, brother of by great grandmother on the back of a calendar.
Tami says
Wow, what a treasure!
I started updating the article on Washoe City but needed to work on the radio show first. I would love any information you have, with credit to you of course/
I was fortunate to visit Franktown Cemetery last fall.
Do you have Pioneer of the Ponderosa? It is a wonderful book and is available online. It took me years to find a printed copy.
Karen says
Wow that is a treasure. I didn’t realize how big the cemetery actually is until recently. Driving by doesn’t do it justice. Do you happen to know who owns the piece of land the cemetery is on. Our group wanted to get permission to help clean the cemetery (remove some weeds, etc) but didn’t know who to contact. Thanks.
Tami says
It is owned by “Washoe City Cemetery.” Not other information on the assessors list.
We have done cleanups at other cemeteries, but they were on BLM and USFS land and we worked through them. Maybe the city or county office knows?
One resource might be the State Office of Historic Preservation. Hopefully they can guide you, I would love to see it cleaned up.
Sharon says
Do you know what movies were filmed at that liog cabin in Washoe City?
Tami says
Funny how I never thought to ask that question. I am looking for information on what movie it was used for. The Shootist was the big movie in the area, but that was after the cabin would have been a movie set.
Mitch says
As I live in Washoe Valley and have done more research of the history, from what I have gathered the old cabin was built in the 1940’s and was never used as a movie set for what it was intended. The Shootist was filmed in Carson City in a vintage home a few houses down from the Governors Mansion on Mountain st. I was in 8th grade watching them film that portion. There was a scene in Washoe park of John Wayne and Loren Bacall in a buggy. The other scenes of John Wayne shooting a bandit was in Carson Valley on Ranch Land close to Genoa. Thanks for the input on your newsletters. I am surprised of the history in Washoe Valley due to being born and raised in Carson City NV.
Tami says
You caught me when I was updating my post on Washoe City! It was one of my earlier posts. I am reformating the layout and adding new information. It is taking longer than planned.
I have been reading Pioneers of the Ponderosa: How the Washoe Valley Rescued the Comstock. I was fortunate to find a hard copy, but it is also available online. It is probably the best history of Washoe Valley and has information I have never seen in other places. It was my main reference for Deadman’s Creek, on the east side of Washoe Valley.
That makes sense about the cabin; I was never able to find a movie filmed at that location. Thank you for the insight.
There is a scene from the Shootist with John Wayne and Ron Howard and our ranch in the background. If you look closely, you can see power lines;)