Huntington Valley-
Elko to White Pine & Eureka Stage Routes

Today, you may recognize one of the northern most beginnings of this very historic route as the only stop light in Spring Creek. Many people have driven to Jiggs or Harrison Pass. Or cut firewood near Bald Mountain. Most have done so without even realizing the major historical significance this area holds. Here is a quick breakdown. Rich mining discoveries were made in the White Pine District (Hamilton, Treasure City area) in 1867/1868. While the discoveries made here were rich and the ore would be long lasting, this area was very remote. Eureka, which sat to the west, had already been established as a lasting mining town. By 1869/1870, the towns of Elko, Carlin, Wells, etc. were establishing themselves as important stops along the Central Pacific Railroad Line. Many lengthy roads were cut that traversed the area between Elko (city) and these southern mining districts. The Huntington Valley would become the key route for connecting these southern mining districts to the railroad in the north.  The roads through the Huntington Valley would also become a vast network of roads that connected to other valleys such as the Diamond and Newark Valleys. These roads included but were not limited to: The Elko-to-Hamilton Stage Road, the Hill Beachy (Beachey) Stage Road, the White Pine Toll Road, Huntington Road, Railroad Pass (no railroad ever existed here), The Overland Road (which also connected this area to the Ruby and Long Valleys on the east side of the Ruby Mountains), etc. If you've ever seen the sign for Twin Bridges, this was the spot on the Denver-Sheperd Toll Road where the road crossed the south fork of the Humboldt River. These larger roads were crisscrossed by many smaller roads that connected more localized spots to each other. Many stage stations were established along these routes to provide food, water, lodging, supplies and fresh horses to the stage drivers and travelers. The Sadler family (future Governor Reinhold Sadler) owned one of the ranches that many of you have probably seen while driving through this area north of Bald Mountain and Overland Pass. That ranch is abandoned today. The original Beachey Station (Hill Beachey Stage Road) was located three miles south of the stop light in Spring Creek. That station sat near modern day Highway 228, not too far north of the Southfork turnoff.  My family first bought land in this section of Elko County over 50 years ago. We've been cutting firewood in this area for years. I have driven down numerous dirt roads in this valley area, as well as many more that lead up into this section of the Ruby Mountains. I have seen a large number of awesome historical sites in this area. However, I have never really taken any photos of the sites that I have seen here. We were always there to cut firewood, not to photograph historic locations. I recently decided to change that. My new goal is to see (or see again) as many of these abandoned ranches, homesteads and stage stations as possible. As I do, I will be photographing them thoroughly. We recently took a day trip in this area in July of 2022. The purpose was solely to photograph historical sites. There was no wood cutting involved. We photographed seven sites that day. This included two in White Pine County (Ivirs City and Jacob's Well). I plan on going out again before the summer ends to photograph a few more. We will be cutting wood again this Fall. The difference between cutting wood this Fall, compared to the firewood trips from years past, is that I'll be adding in a historical site or two each trip from now on.