Valmy

Valmy carries a French battlefield's name into the Nevada desert. The railroad siding here, overlooking the old California Emigrant Trail along the Humboldt, was named for the Battle of Valmy, the 1792 victory that saved the French Revolution—an odd bit of European history pinned to a sagebrush stop on the transcontinental line. Like many sidings, it served the ranches and mines scattered across the surrounding country, a name on the timetable more than a real town. In the modern era a large power plant rose nearby, and Valmy is best known now as an exit along Interstate 80.

What the plaque says

Overlooking the Old California Emigrant Trail, Valmy was named after the Battle of Valmy in France. Established in 1910 by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company as a section point, Valmy served during the steam era as a water and fuel stop for the railroad. Treaty Hill to the northwest marks a division point between the Paiute lands to the west and Shoshone lands to the east. For generations the scene of battles over two springs, Treaty Hill marks the site where peace was wrought by compromise, when two chiefs sat down and divided springs and territory between the warring tribes. The first postoffice here was established as Stonehouse on November 26, 1890. The name was changed to Valmy March 24, 1915.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Stonehouse — 4.8 mi
• Battle Mountain — 14 mi
• Golconda — 22 mi
• Button Point — 28 mi