Mormon Station

After the long haul across the Forty Mile Desert, the exhausted and thirst emigrants rested in a fertile oasis at the foot of the Carson Range before tackling that final barrier on the trail to California: the Sierra Nevada.

In June 1850, Hampton Beatie and six companions from Salt Lake established a trading post on the west side of the Carson Valley which they named Mormon Station. Later known as Genoa, located just west of Minden, this represented the first permanent settlement in what would become the state of Nevada.

Beatie's one-story log cabin with no roof or floor was the last stop for emigrants before crossing the Sierra Nevada. Beatie sold supplies and since the emigrants were in no position to bargain, he made large profits. After just three months, Beatie sold out to Stephen Moore and returned to Salt Lake where he told his employer, John Reese, about his experiences in the Carson Valley. Intrigued, Reese set out for the valley in the spring of 1851. Reese arrived at the site of the Beatie house, long since vanished, in July. Reese purchased the site and adjacent land from Moore for about $20.

Reese also gave Captain Jim of the Washo tribe two sacks of flour to secure the land rights from the local tribe. About a mile south of the original structure, Reese built a two-story log cabin which housed a store and hotel. Reese's Station, or Mormon Station, soon also included a blacksmith shop and livery stable, as well as a nearby flour and saw mill. Ten acres yielded vegetables and grains. Reese left the post in 1856 and various people rented or exchanged ownership of the post until 1910 when it burned down. The replica of the post which stands today was built in 1947.

From the first establishment of the post, the region's population grew. The residents formed a squatter's government in 1851 and, in 1854, the Utah Territorial Legislature organized Carson County, the first county government in what is now Nevada. By the spring of 1856, approximately 65 families had settled in the Carson Valley, most of the Mormon. The next year, after Brigham Young called all the Mormons back to Zion to defend Salt Lake from the advancing U.S. Army, about 450 Mormons from the region responded, leaving the Carson Valley with a population of about two hundred. In 1858, Brigham Young appointed Mormon apostle Orson Hyde to serve as spiritual head of the Mormon Station community. The surrounding mountains reminded Hyde of the coastline of Genoa, Italy, where he had served as a missionary and he re-named the community Genoa.

Today, Mormon Station is a Nevada State Historic Park. The museum and stockade provide exhibits which tell the history of the station and the region. The museum and stockade are open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, mid-May through mid-October. Admission is free but donations are appreciated.

Platt and Slater Guide, 1852:

You have now reached the north-east end of what is called Carson Valley -- the largest fertile spot found on the route since leaving the head-waters of Mary's river. Along this valley you will find good grass. A small settlement was commenced in this valley, in the summer of 1851. The valley is about 30 miles long. ...We would advise all to stop in this valey and recruit their teams before crossing the Nevada mountains.

William Kelly, 1849:

From the summit of the rise we got the first good and distinct view of the Great Sierra Nevada range, stretching beyond the scope of vision, north and south, with pointed snow-capped peaks between us and the land of promise, reminding me of days gone by, the garden walls capped with glass to prevent naughty boys from stealing the rich fruit beyond them....