"So, normally as I write my journal, I like to sit at the actual marker for a bit of inspiration. In this case, I am parked well away from #105 for one reason only ... the owner's barking dogs. This is the first time I've ever been run away from a marker by a couple of canines. Moving on then ..." -- February 2008

167 Old Hwy 40 (SR 789) -- Golconda

Original Date Visited: 2/28/08
Signed: A double rarity! It's rare to see historic marker signage along any freeway in Nevada, but this one's signed on both lanes of Interstate 80 before the off-ramp to "Golconda."

Notes: Use Exit 194 from I-80 then left toward "Golconda." At the frontage road intersection, make a right (eastbound) onto Business 80/Old US 40. If you've gone past the Mike's Bar & Grill, you've gone too far. Marker 105 is awkwardly placed right at the entrance to a private driveway, (check out the Street View below), so this one remains in a constant state of endangerment. Like a few others in the system this one would be better moved to a more placid (and historically accurate) location. My recommendation is the original Golconda Hot Springs Resort or maybe at the pavement's end of SR 789 eastbound. As long as this marker remains where it is, removal remains completely at the owner's discretion. I would go as far to say as Marker 105 is probably the most endangered marker in the system!

Street View

Here's what you'll see!

Exact Description:
Golconda is a one time Utah Territory mining town whose hot springs, a landmark on the California Emigrant Trail, were of more enduring fame than its gold and silver boom.

In 1868, Golconda became an ore shipping station on the new Central Pacific Railroad. Renewed activity in 1897 resulted in the narrow-gauge Golconda and Adelaide Railroad to the Adelaide mine. Golconda grew to 500 inhabitants by 1899, but the next year the mine and mill closed and railroad service ceased.

The hot springs (97 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit) flow at about 100 gallons per minute. A rare occurrence of tungsten in the silica deposit of a fossil vent, one mile east, was once mined. Active vents north of the railroad tracks were the site of a famous health resort hotel which burned in 1961.

A Trip to Golconda

COVERED IN MY I-80 ROAD TRIP

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Related Links & Markers:

- 106 - Elko Golconda (NV Expeditions) Virtual Tour of the California Trail

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