"Camels in Nevada. That's like Chinook in Oregon. Celebs in California. It must go hand-in-hand. A natural fit! A match made in sagebrush heaven! Not so actually. I knew this before even visiting this marker. Although we'd think camels would be a perfect fit here in our desert state, the cost of importing them just wasn't worth it. Camels did very well in Nevada's arid climate, but they couldn't compete with the good old equine. Man's other best friend. This marker reminds us of this experiment ... a common practice throughout Nevada's lifetime of trial and error." -- June 2008

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200 Pike St. -- Dayton Lyon   39.238771, -119.591278

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Original Date Visited: 6/17/08
Revisited: 11/14/22
Signed: No

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Street View

Here's what you'll see!

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Marker 200 at my initial conquering in 2008 Not much has changed upon my revisiting two decades later!      

Exact Description:
Camels were imported into the United States for military purposes in the mid-1850's. Lt. Edward Beale of the U.S. Army tested the animals caravan operations in the deserts of the Southwest. The experiment was not successful and the camels were auctioned off. Some were brought here to haul wood and salt to the mines and mills of the Comstock. They were corralled behind this stone hay barn, known as the Leslie Hay Barn. Used extensively between Sacramento and Nevada points for some ten years, they were later abandoned to fend for themselves. Few were seen after the 1880's.

The campaign of using camels in Nevada was a fascinating statewide effort in the 1850s!

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Have you been to Dayton?

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 COVERED IN MY US 50 ROAD TRIP

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Next Marker

HALL'S STATION

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Related Links & Markers:

 - 7 - Dayton   - 104 - The Camel Corps   Camels (Online Nevada Encyclopedia)   Camel Corps Experiment (U.S. Army History)   Nevada Towns: Dayton   History of Dayton 

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