"At first I was annoyed by this placement, but after sitting here for a minute it makes sense. J&T is one of the oldest eateries in Carson Valley and it's only befitting that this marker be placed here, especially in homage to this area's Basque influence. Good luck trying to turn in here from the south!" -- August 2007

1426 US Hwy 395 N -- Gardnerville

Original Date Visited: 8/21/07
Signed: No
Notes: Take note boys and girls ... this one is surprisingly hidden among Gardnerville's townscape! Marker 129 stands along the west side of US 395 (Main Street) where 25MPH traffic bottlenecks through the town of Gardnerville. As you might guess slowing down to spot the marker is out of the question! Here's the key: 129 is easiest to spot if you're headed southbound. Look for the marker just past the intersection with Gilman Ave (SR 756) and Sharkey's Casino. Look to your right for the white colored JT Bar and Grill. The marker sits directly next to a newspaper stand in front of the parking lot. Good luck!

Street View

Here's what you'll see!

Exact Description:
Early Gardnerville served the farming community and teamsters hauling local produce to booming Bodie. The first buildings were a blacksmith shop, a saloon and the Gardnerville Hotel. The latter was moved by Lawrence Gilman in 1879 from the emigrant trail between Genoa and Walley's Hot Springs, where it was known as Kent House, to this site, the homestead of John M. Gardner.

Just as Genoa was the center for British settlers (largely Mormon) after 1851, so Gardnerville, after 1879, became the center for 1870 Danish immigrants. They founded the Valhalla Society in 1885 and met in Valhalla Hall--now gone.

Starting in 1898, Spanish and French Basque shepherds tended some 13,000 sheep in Carson Valley, increasing to 25,000 by 1925, when the Basques began acquiring their own sheep and land. After 1918, several Basques in Gardnerville opened inns which flourished during the Prohibition years.

Basque in Nevada

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Related Links & Markers:

- 120 - Walley's Hot Springs Nevada Towns: Gardnerville Classic Gardnerville Dangberg Ranch (Official Website)

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