Humboldt House

For a generation this was where the desert relented. When the Central Pacific pushed through in 1868, the railroad built an eating house here, and from 1869 to 1900 Humboldt House ranked among the best on the whole line—a true oasis, with good water and fresh fruit and vegetables set before passengers who had crossed a great deal of nothing to reach it. Trains paused, travelers dined, and then rolled on. The hotel is long gone; a grove of planted trees, green against the sage, still marks the spot.

What the plaque says

Humboldt House or Humboldt Station was originally the point of departure for Humboldt City, Prince Royal, and the mines in that vicinity. In September 1866, it became a stage stop for the historic William (Hill) Beachey Railroad Stage Lines. As the Central Pacific Railhead advanced from eastern California, it reached Humboldt House in September 1868. From 1869 to 1900, Humboldt House was well known as one of the best eating houses on the Central Pacific Railroad. It was truly an oasis in the great Nevada desert, with good water, fruit, and vegetables. The large grove of trees to the west marks the site of this famous hotel. Between 1841 and 1857, 165,000 Americans traveled the California emigrant trail past here. In 1850, on the dreaded Forty Mile Desert southwest of present day Lovelock, over 9,700 dead animals and 3,000 abandoned vehicles were counted.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Applegate-Lassen Emigrant Trail Cutoff — 5.8 mi
• Star City — 11 mi
• Reunion in Unionville — 12 mi
• Unionville — 14 mi