Carson and Colorado R.R. Freight Depot

This depot belonged to a railroad its own backer thought was a mistake. The Carson and Colorado was a three-foot narrow-gauge line begun in 1880, running from Mound House toward the Owens Valley; its first locomotive was named the Candelaria, for the silver camp it was built to reach. Owner Darius Ogden Mills judged it built "three hundred miles too long, or three hundred years too soon." It served every camp in this corner, was sold to Southern Pacific in 1900, and was nicknamed the Slim Princess. The freight house still stands.

What the plaque says

This is the first railroad building to be constructed in Hawthorne. It is the remnant of the narrow-gauge Carson and Colorado Railroad built south from Mound House, near Virginia City in 1881. Railroad officials laid out the town in the desert and the first lots were auctioned off on April 14, 1881. The line was subsequently extended into Owens Valley, California, with rail service to Hawthorne coming to an end when the town was bypassed in 1905. In later years, this building served as the general store of J. E. Adams and Senator John H. Miller, a bar and restaurant with a bingo parlor, and a banquet hall, until acquired by the Hawthorne Elks Lodge in 1946.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Hawthorne — 0.6 mi
• Mineral County — 14 mi
• Belleville — 32 mi