Mound House, Nevada
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Mound House is a small
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in Lyon County,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
on
U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...
that is situated between Nevada's capital,
Carson City Carson City, officially the Carson City Consolidated Municipality, is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the 6th most populous city in the state. The m ...
, and
Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
. Its elevation is 4,974 feet (1,516 m). It is in Lyon County, one of eight Nevada counties that allow for legalized prostitution, and is home to four
brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...
s.


History

Situated adjacent to Carson City, the community of Mound House lies just east of the county line and is the first community in Lyon County as one travels east on
U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...
from Carson City. Mound House came into being as a community in the 19th century as settlers traveled west toward
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
along 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 Count ...
route. The famed Pony Express (1860–1861) once had a stop here, now commemorated by a Historical Marker located on the grounds of the Moonlite BunnyRanch legal brothel. Mound House grew in importance with the Comstock silver strike and the famed
Virginia and Truckee Railroad The Virginia and Truckee Railroad (stylized as Virginia & Truckee Railroad) is a privately owned heritage railway, heritage railroad, headquartered in Virginia City, Nevada. Its private and publicly owned route is long. When first constructe ...
(V&T) passed through the community. It grew in population during the mining boom with a railroad station (1871) and post office (1877) as the center of the community. Upon construction of the
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
Carson and Colorado Railway (C&C) in 1880, Mound House became an important multi-gauge transfer depot for both freight and passengers. The original community suffered the fate of many of the Comstock tied communities, population and commerce fading with the demise of the silver boom. Completion of the Hazen branch (1905) of the
Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
, which had purchased the C&C the previous year, allowed traffic bound for the transcontinental railroad to bypass the V&T entirely, and Mound House suffered as a result. At the turn of the 20th century, there were two
gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...
operations near Mound House: the Regan mill to the east and the Adams operation to the north. By 1923, the Regan mill had not been in operation for several years. In about 1904, former Nevada Governor Jewett W. Adams acquired the northern gypsum deposit. The gypsum was transported via the SPRR and by large carts to the old Mexican mill for refining in Empire City. Adams named his product "Empire" plaster. Empire brand plaster was used in the rebuilding of San Francisco after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. In 1907 Adams, J.C. Curry and Nathaniel Bell formed Nevada Gypsum Co., which started construction of a new mill and tramway just north of Mound House on the V&T. Future Nevada Governor Emmet D. Boyle designed and supervised the construction of the new mill. In February 1909, the mill started shipping product. In 1912, Nevada Gypsum Co. sold its holdings to Pacific Portland Cement Company, which operated the mine and mill until 1924. In 1924, Pacific Portland Cement Company moved its operations to
Empire, Nevada Empire is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Washoe County, Nevada, with a population estimated at 65 (2021). Empire mine bought out by investor and reopened on a smaller scale. Prior to the 2010 census it was part ...
. The dismantling of the Mound House mill was completed by September 1924. Gypsum mining and a mill still operate today in the community. However, the community's railroads eventually fell victim to economic forces, with the C&C abandoning its line between Mound House and Fort Churchill in 1934, and the V&T closing its Carson City-Virginia City line in 1938. The rails were removed for scrap in 1941. With the reconstruction of the Virginia & Truckee Railway underway since the mid-1970s, Mound House residents and visitors can now once again hear the sound of trains nearby. However, the 2009 version of the V&T had to deviate from the historical alignment down what is now Red Rock Road and Highland Drive due to the development that had taken place over the last 68 years. As a result, the new trains will not pass through the site of the original Mound House depot and yards.Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the Virginia & Truckee Railway Significant industrial enterprises, small commercial businesses, mining, and several residential areas make up the community of Mound House today.


References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Nevada Unincorporated communities in Lyon County, Nevada Pony Express stations