Old Washoe City is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

in Washoe County,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, in the United States. Nearby there is a new community called New Washoe City.

History

Old Washoe City was founded in 1860 as a

lumber camp A logging camp (or lumber camp) is a transitory work site used in the logging industry. Before the second half of the 20th century, these camps were the primary place where lumberjacks would live and work to fell trees in a particular area. Many ...

for

Virginia City Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Virginia City developed as a boom ...

. With unlimited water available from

Washoe Lake Washoe Lake ( Washo: c'óʔyaʔ dáʔaw) is a lake located near Carson City in the Washoe Valley of Washoe County, Nevada. It is a very shallow lake with a surface area that can vary greatly from year to year. Washoe Lake State Park sits on th ...

, mills were built for reducing ore. Dozens of trips were made daily by mule-driven ore wagons to Virginia City, hauling timber and farm produce. The return trips brought Comstock ore for milling. Old Washoe City became the county seat of Washoe County when it was created in 1861. The new county seat attracted lawyers, doctors, and dentists, among others. The streets were lined with restaurants, stores, saloons, livery stables, drugstores, bath houses and shaving emporiums. The Washoe City post office opened in July 1862, closed in October 1888, reopened in November 1888 until December 1894. In October 1862, the Washoe ''Times'' printed its first newspaper. Later, a school, churches, a hospital, and a courthouse and jail were built. By 1865, Washoe City had a fluctuating permanent and transient population that may have reached 6000. Washoe City started to decline after the completion of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad to the

Carson River The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long although the addition of the East Fork makes the total length , traversing five counties: Alpine Coun ...

in 1869. Within a few years, the population was reduced to 2,500 residents. In 1871, the county seat of Washoe County was moved to

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, and in 1880, only 200 people lived in Washoe City. The post office was named Washoe from December 1894 until Jan 1914. By the early 20th century, Washoe City was empty. Nowadays, there are just the remains of many of the original buildings.

In popular culture

In ''

Hell On Wheels Hell on Wheels was the itinerant collection of flimsily assembled gambling houses, dance halls, saloons, and brothels that followed the army of Union Pacific railroad workers westward as they constructed the First transcontinental railroad in 186 ...

'' season 5, episode 12 ("Any Sum Within Reason"), much of the critical action takes place in and around Washoe City.

History

In popular culture

References

See also