Eagle Valley (Nevada)

Eagle Valley is the area encompassing Carson City, Nevada. The valley was first settled during the California Gold Rush of 1849. The discovery of Nevada's Comstock Lode in 1859 established the economic importance of the area, which would become the site of the Nevada State Capitol.

History

The area was historically occupied by the indigenous Washoe before the arrival of American settlers. The Bartleson–Bidwell Party is believed to have passed through the area on the way to California in 1841. Kit Carson and John C. Fremont rode into the valley, which was still under Mexican rule, during their survey of the Western United States in the mid-1840s. In 1848, Mexico ceded the region to the United States after the Mexican-American War. Soon afterwards, the California Gold Rush brought a wave of prospectors in search of fortune.

In September 1850, the valley was part of the newly established Utah Territory. Many early settlers included Mormons led by Colonel John Reese. In 1851, Reese and a band of eighteen men established "Mormon Station", the first trading post of the Nevada region, near the valley at a location that would become the town of Genoa. When they were recalled to Salt Lake City, Utah by Mormon leader Brigham Young, the land was sold to local resident John Mankin. The trading post became known as Eagle Station and the surrounding area was called Eagle Ranch. The name reportedly came from an eagle shot by ranch manager Frank Hall, who displayed it on the trading post wall. The station served as a stop on the California Trail.