A person rides a white horse on a trail through a landscape with brush and mountains. — **Plate I.** Horseback rider, Mount Wilson Back Country Byway. From travelnevada.com

Mount Wilson Back Country Byway

Pioche, Lincoln County, Nevada. Backcountry Byway.

Details

Map. Pioche, Lincoln County, Nevada. Larger map

Where: State Route 322, Pioche, NV 89043. Directions
Season: The route is generally open seasonally and may become unsafe or impassable in winter, after heavy rain, or when roads are wet.
Getting there: The byway begins on State Route 322 at Pioche or off U.S. 93 at the Pony Springs rest area, about 22 miles north of Pioche.
Fees: No.
Access: High-clearance vehicles are recommended for travel on the northern half of the byway. Access is very limited during the winter. Route signing is minimal so please obtain a route map from the BLM in Ely.
Walk-in or reserve: Does not offer reservations through Recreation.gov.
Phone: (775) 289-1800
Website: nvtrailfinder.com
Managed by: Bureau of Land Management - Caliente Field Office.

An approximately 66-mile Type II route through Lincoln County, Nevada, that loops around the Wilson Range.

Notable Events

1860sThe Spring Valley area was originally settled by Mormon pioneers in the 1860s; some of their homesteads lie within the park boundary. travelnevada.com
1863A Mormon missionary scouting the region for settlement sites met a Paiute who disclosed the location of silver ore deposits in the hills above the central Meadow Valley Wash. intermountainhistories.org
1864Silver ore was discovered in the range of mountains at Pioche. shpo.nv.gov
1869The San Francisco-based financier François Pioche bought out the area's claims and coordinated the infrastructure for large-scale mining. intermountainhistories.org
1869Mines were opened and the town of Pioche was founded, soon the scene of a wild rush of prospectors and fortune seekers. shpo.nv.gov
1871A fire broke out at a Mexican Independence celebration, leading to an explosion that displaced 2,000 people, killed over a dozen, and destroyed half the buildings. intermountainhistories.org
1871Pioche was designated the seat of Lincoln County and survived hard times as a supply and government center for a vast area. shpo.nv.gov
1872Miners had retrieved over five million dollars in ore by 1872, but by 1900 Pioche was nearly a ghost town. shpo.nv.gov
1873Pioche endured devastating flash floods in 1873 and 1874. intermountainhistories.org
1876Another great fire ravaged the town and the principal mines were shut down that same year for inability to extract further ore with existing technology. intermountainhistories.org
1930sPioche endured as the administrative capitol of Lincoln County, bolstered by new extraction operations, notably the lead and zinc boom from the 1930s to the 50s. intermountainhistories.org
1937Beginning in 1937, Pioche enjoyed two decades of profitable lead-zinc mining. shpo.nv.gov
1965People living in the area and using its water built the Eagle Valley Dam in 1965 for local agricultural purposes. travelnevada.com
1969Spring Valley State Park was established; visitors tour historic ranches built in the late 1800s. parks.nv.gov
Archaeologists believe the area was occupied as long ago as 5,500 B.C.E., and the rock outcrop known as George Washington Rock may have been used as a lookout. parks.nv.gov

People

François Pioche, San Francisco-based financier who bought out the area's claims and coordinated the infrastructure for large-scale mining; the town of Pioche carries his name (bought the claims in 1869).
Millet family, Nineteenth-century ranchers whose ranch building survives in the park and now serves as the park headquarters (19th century).

Details

Notable Events

People

Sources