Fort McDermitt

Fort McDermitt began in violence and outlasted every other post in the state. The Army established it on August 14, 1865, first as Quinn River Camp No. 33, to guard the stage and wagon road running from Virginia City up the Quinn River Valley toward Idaho. It was renamed for Lt. Col. Charles McDermit, the Nevada district commander killed in an ambush days before. The fort served twenty-four years—the longest-active Army post in Nevada—through the Snake, Bannock, and Modoc conflicts. In 1889 it became the last Nevada post to close, handed to the Indian Service as a reservation school.

What the plaque says

Established in 1865, Fort McDermitt was originally called Quinn River Camp #33 on the East Fork, then renamed in honor of Lt. Col. Charles McDermitt who died while fighting American Indians. The fort consisted of several adobe, stone, and frame buildings surrounding a square. Its purpose was to protect the Virginia City-Quinn River Valley-Oregon road. Twenty four years of operation made it the longest-serving active army fort in Nevada. Its troops participated in the Modoc War and in conflicts with the Bannock and Shoshone Tribes. It was the last of the Nevada army posts in service when converted into an American Indian reservation school in 1889.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation — steps away
• Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins — 4.8 mi