Button Point

When Frank Button drove cattle into these valleys in 1873, Winnemucca was a few houses, a ferry across the Humboldt, and a street paved with sagebrush stubs. Button and his uncle I.V. Button built a ranching empire on the fertile bottomlands of Humboldt County, running thousands of fine horses across some four thousand square miles under their well-known Double Square brand. They sold the original ranch in 1884, but Frank stayed on, later chairing the county commission. The point named for him overlooks the Humboldt corridor that carried emigrants, then cattle, then the modern highway west.

What the plaque says

(Named in Honor of Frank Button). A few houses, a ferry across the Humboldt River, and Bridge Street paved with sagebrush stubs comprised the town of Winnemucca in 1873 when Frank Button and his uncle I.V. Button drove cattle into the area to begin ranching operations in the rich, fertile valleys of northern and eastern Humboldt County. Using their famous Double Square brand, they raised thousands of fine horses on the 4,000 square miles of ranchland. Although the original ranch was sold in 1884, Frank Button continued his ranching activities in this area, and later served as chairman of the Board of Humboldt County Commissioners.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Winnemucca — 9.0 mi
  The crossing town at the western end of the Humboldt — Basque tables, a 1900 bank robbery the town still pins on Butch Cassidy, and the spot where I-80 meets US-95.

More markers nearby

• Humboldt River — steps away
• Golconda — 6.5 mi
• The Humboldt Canal — 8.3 mi
• Pioneer Memorial Park — 9.2 mi