Diamond Valley

[82]       

Diamond Valley

Eureka County
  39.74016, -116.07479

"A snowy March afternoon in Diamond Valley. By the amount of cars I've passed this entire trip from Carlin, I think I'm out here at the wrong time of year. Total number: 0. No mountain views today. Such are the typical white-out conditions of Nevada winters. The same question keeps ringing through my head as it has for seventy-eight long miles ... What the hell am I doing out here? Time for that warm room back in town." -- Journal Entry, March 2008

Along SR 278, 17 miles north of Eureka

Original Date Visited: 3/10/08

Signed: Both lanes of SR 278

  • Sundown at lonely Marker 82 in central Nevada
  • Marker 82 plaque
  • The lovely snows of March in central Nevada

Exact Description:
The first known explorer of Diamond Valley was Colonel John C. Fremont, who mapped the area to aid western migration in 1845. Before Fremont, tribes of Shoshone and Paiute Indians long had gathered nature's bounty here.

Colonel J.H. Simpson mapped a route through the valley in 1859. The Simpson route, through the north end of the valley, immediately became the Pony Express route from 1860-1861. The Overland telegraph replaced the Pony Express and also crossed the valley.

Early freight toll roads were operated across the valley as lead and silver mining camps boomed in the 1860's. Needs of the mining camps gave rise to a limited livestock an dairy industry. In 1957, a large underground lake was tapped to supply water for irrigation.

Next Marker:

ROCK CREEK (COLD SPRINGS STATION)

Related Links & Markers:

 [271] -- Pony Express Trail ...   Nevada Towns: Diamond Valley   Nevada Towns: Diamond Springs 

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