Diamond Valley

Every road west came through here before there was a road. Frémont mapped the valley in 1845 to ease the migration that followed; the Shoshone and Paiute had gathered its bounty for far longer. J. H. Simpson's 1859 survey along the north end became the Pony Express route the next year, then carried the Overland Telegraph, then the freight wagons hauling to the silver camps. In 1957 drillers tapped a vast underground lake beneath the valley floor, and the corridor of movement finally became farmland.

What the plaque says

The first known explorer of Diamond Valley was Colonel John C. Fremont, who mapped the area to aid western migration in 1845. Before Fremont, tribes of Shoshone and Paiute Indians long had gathered nature's bounty here. Colonel J.H. Simpson mapped a route through the valley in 1859. The Simpson route, through the north end of the valley, immediately became the Pony Express route from 1860-1861. The Overland telegraph replaced the Pony Express and also crossed the valley. Early freight toll roads were operated across the valley as lead and silver mining camps boomed in the 1860's. Needs of the mining camps gave rise to a limited livestock and dairy industry. In 1957, a large underground lake was tapped to supply water for irrigation.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Eureka — 18 mi
  The Pittsburgh of the West, reborn — the best-preserved town on the loneliest road, with an 1880 opera house and a working 1879 courthouse

More markers nearby

• The Eureka Mining District Producing Ore Since 1864 — 15 mi
• Eureka Sentinel Building — 18 mi
• Eureka Courthouse — 18 mi
• Tannehill Cabin — 19 mi