Lincoln Highway 1920 & Now Carson City - Fallon, Nv

[Keep the Show on the Road!]

The history, route, and enjoyment of the Lincoln are interwoven with the Pony Express and the Overland Stage of the 1860’s, and of course with US 50, called the Loneliest Road in America. Therefore it would be difficult to travel the Lincoln and not stop to enjoy the historic sites associated with these related travelways. I will intersperse comments about the Pony Express, primarily from the historic account of Sir Richard Burton who traveled the Overland Trail and Pony Express route in 1860.

 

I will also use the splendid book The Lincoln Highway – Nevada which is Gregeory M. Franzwa’s fifth book in his Lincoln Highway series, a “must have” for any Lincoln Highway fan. It contains photos, lucid descriptions of sites and the old road, well researched history, and comprehensive maps.

 

Lincoln Highway Pioneer Branch ad in 1920 Automobile Blue Book

 

A good place to begin the eastward travel on the Lincoln in Nevada is in Carson City on the 1920 and later Pioneer Branch. Carson City is an interesting town itself, and if you get off the main streets, you can enjoy vintage streets and structures.

 

A good starting point is the Lincoln Highway sign post in front of the Nevada State Museum. It was placed in 1928. The museum is a great place to visit, and the bookstore is among the best for finding Nevada materials not available elsewhere.

 

Eastbound on US 50, you are following the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln. Swing into the little town of Dayton, about 12 miles east of Carson City. This was a pony express stop in 1860 and a station on the Overland Stage. Main Street is the old Overland Trail of 1862-68 and the old Lincoln Highway Pioneer Branch. Franzwa notes a vintage Lincoln Highway sign on the corner of the Courthouse building.

 

The Pony Express station was at the site of the brick red Union Hotel at the end of the street in the photo below. An original wall is all that is left of the station today. (I think the Union Hotel has been repainted pink! I guess nothing stays the same.)

 

Dayton Main Street

 

There is lots of old west and Lincoln Highway ambiance in Dayton. When I talked with the woman at the historical society housed in the 1863 brick school house, she showed the pride of the community in their Lincoln Highway connection. She was quick to mention they were hosting a Lincoln Highway lecture and presentation in the next few weeks.

 

The building on the right in the picture above is the Odeon Saloon and Billiard Parlor, built in 1863. Mark Twain was a visitor, and President Grant addressed the townspeople from the balcony in 1879.

 

Dayton Odean Saloon and Billiard Parlor

 

That is sheila, Rose of the Road peering through the window at the interior. She is kind of shy

 

It has nothing I can think of to do with the Lincoln Highway, but Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable's last movie, The Misfits, was filmed in and around Dayton in 1960.

 

Being this close, after you leave Dayton eastbound you must take US95A south 8 miles to Ft Churchill and Buckland Station. The fort was built to garrison soldiers after the Piute uprising in the early 1860’s, and Buckland’s was a stage station. Burton writes of Ft Churchill:

 

We went straight to the quartermaster's office and there found Lieut. Moore, who introduced us to all present, and supplied us with the latest newspapers and news. The camp was Teetotalist, and avoided cards like good Moslems. We were not however expected to drink water except in the form of strong waters, and the desert had disinclined us to abstain from whiskey. Finally, Mr. Byrne, the sutler, put into our ambulance [note: an ambulance is a type of wagon, narrower and fully enclosed, in contrast to the more familiar Concord coach] a substantial lunch, with a bottle of cocktail and other of cognac, especially intended to keep the cold out.

Ft Churchill

 

Ft Churchill Adobe Buildings in 3D (To view in 3D, stare at the two images, and cross your eyes until a third image appears in the center in 3D! It may help to tilt your head left or right a little.)

 

When you return to US 50 and the Pioneer Branch, head east toward Fallon. Fallon was proud of its association with the Lincoln Highway and promoted travel on the Pioneer Branch as is demonstrated in this 1920 advertisement.

 

Fallon Chamber ad in Automoble Blue Book Guide of 1920

 

The vintage Fallon Overland Hotel and Saloon served Lincoln Highway guests in the teens and 20’s, as it does today. Friends who have been into the hotel tell us you can enjoy a Basque meal in the restaurant or a drink at the western bar. They reported that during the happy hour cowboys with spurs mingled with Native Americans and other locals to create as close to an old western scene as one is likely to find anywhere. (Note the Lincoln Highway signs on the pillars in front)

 

Overland Hotel and Saloon

 

I talked by phone with new owners Mark and Judy as I put this post together. They are renovating the upstairs to provide accommodations complete with period furniture. They plan to continue the Lincoln Highway connection. It sounded to me like it would be worth a closer look. Share your experience with us on the Forum.

 

Fallon 1920 Ads

 

Across the street is the Fallon Garage, complete with old style gas pumps on display.

 

Gas Pump in the Fallon Garage

 

I can’t ever forget Fallon because we stayed there the night of September 10, 2001. We didn’t turn the TV on in the morning in the room and when I walked to the office to check out I found a small knot of people in various stages of shock staring at the TV. When we left later going east on US 50 into the barren and largely uninhabited desert, the fact that we were hundreds of miles from any possible bomb or other attack was of some little comfort. But we had no idea what we all would be facing as the day went on. It was almost surreal traveling the long, often deserted road across the desert listening to the reports as they came in on the radio.

 

As a final note, below is the description of this section of the Lincoln Highway in 1920.

 

Carson City to Fallon, Nev. - 65.7 m.

 

Via Mound House and Dayton. First 20 miles good graded gravelly dirt, next 25 miles fine natural prairie road; balance fair with some rough stretches around Lahontan lake, which will in all probability be in good shape for 1920 travel.

 

Leaving Carson City the route follows an irrigated valley for 20 miles, then traverses an open rolling prairie country to the Lahontan Dam, again entering a well developed irrigated section just beyond. Meals and supplies may be had at Dayton. This road has recently been added to the Lincoln highway system and officially designated as the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln highway.

 

The next installment will take us past a rediscovered Pony Express station, a brothel, and to Eastgate where Lincoln Highway travelers carved their names into the sandstone walls.

Edited May 5, 2007 by Keep the Show on the Road!

[ypsi-slim]

In 1994 a woman was cleaning out a basement in an old commerical building in Dayton, Nevada. She found a heavy wooden crate that she couldn't move marked on the outside as from the LA Enamel Sign Company, Los Angeles. After prying off the top she found 14 unused large Lincoln Highway porcelain on steel signs marked for the Pioneer Trail Unit, with right and left turn arrows, from 1921!

 

ypsi-slim

[Keep the Show on the Road!]

In 1994 a woman was cleaning out a basement in an old commerical building in Dayton, Nevada. She found a heavy wooden crate that she couldn't move marked on the outside as from the LA Enamel Sign Company, Los Angeles. After prying off the top she found 14 unused large Lincoln Highway porcelain on steel signs marked for the Pioneer Trail Unit, with right and left turn arrows, from 1921!

 

ypsi-slim

 

OMG! We have awakened a giant! In case anyone who reads these posts doesn’t recognize the handle Ypsi-slim, let me just say the man is a legend regarding the Lincoln Highway. I am flattered just to be in the same thread as he!

 

Honestly, I am now a little intimidated. On a scale of 10, Ypsi is an 11 in his mastery of things Lincoln, and I am a 3 (on a good day, a 4).

 

I can only touch the surface in these posts, because that is the depth of my knowledge, but if Ypsi weighs in at any time, consider it better than gold.

 

Thanks Ypsi for the info on the Dayton treasure trove!

 

He will definitely help Keep the Show on the Road!