Begin Historical Markers

Journey to Nevada's Geographical Center

Nevada Fun Facts

Related Links

Contact

Historic Marker Footnotes
Every historical marker found on this site are organized into Nevada's 17 counties. Every county itself has its own unique interpretation and contribution to the Silver State's reason for being and at the same time... share a common connection with mining and emigrating to an undiscovered land. Simply access any one of the 17 counties to learn more about the county and begin marker hunting here. On each marker page you'll find three main categories:
"Location", "Directions" and "Description".

"Location" simply tells you what part of Nevada you'll find the marker (I.E: 'Carson City, 'Central Nye County', 'South Reno', 'Eastern Lincoln County').

"Directions" are as accurate as possible. As in the way of Nevada, some markers are way out of the way, often more than 50 miles from the nearest town while others are found right in parking lots, along sidewalks or grassy lawns right in major cities. Others will be in rest areas, enclosed behind a fence, hidden among pine trees, sitting alone in the middle of nowhere and often times, right on buildings themselves. Unfortunately, you'll even find a few that are located on private property and permission is required to even view them. You never really know what you're going to find, even if I provide as much information as possible, the conditions may very well change when you arrive. I've provided you with the most accurate directions as possible based on intersections or the number of miles it is from town. Fortunately, you'll find that almost every marker can be found right from a major highway or paved road. You'll also find important information if need be right below the directions informing you of private property, no service stretches of road and more often than most... how difficult they are to spot! When they're hard to find... the real hunt begins!

Lastly in the "Description", you'll find a brief summary interpreting what each marker describes. If you want to read exactly what it says, I've provided the plaque photo close up on every page... Nothing has been missed when it comes to this site!

The Marker Scale You'll also find a small table that looks like this... Location: 2 Visibility: 1 Accessibility: 2 Marker type: Stone This table is based on four things according to each historic marker: "Location, Visibility, Accessibility and Marker Type". Everything but "Marker Type" is based on a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being the easiest and 10 being the most difficult. "Location" corresponds to where in Nevada this marker is. The rating goes up if the marker is farther away from a major town. (I.E. Right inside a major city would obviously be a "1".) "Visibility" has to do with, 'how easy it is to see from the road'. "Accessibility" corresponds to generally, 'how hard it is to get to (access'). (I.E. A marker that sits right alongside a paved road would obviously be a "1".) Say if, for example, you find a table like this: Location: 2 Visibility: 5 Accessibility: 3 Marker type: Standard This is a rare occuring example, but a good one nonetheless. This marker's "location" looks like it is within easy limits of a major town, but its "visibility" rating is high b/c it's of its difficulty spotting from the road. It probably sits well back from the main drag, requiring another set of eyes to find, or parking and walking to view it. However, it's "accessibility" is fairly easy, right alongside a major street or highway. This is Marker 77, Dat-So-La-Lee, in southern Carson City. Using this scale, its important to know that the rating of "Visibility" and "Accessibility" somehow will always correspond with each other. They are important ratings because a marker may not necessarily be hard to find, but it's just simply hard to see from the road. This would give it a higher "visibility" rating than an "accessibility" rating. Vice versa if it's easy to see, but is located off of an unpaved road away from the main highway, for example. Unfortunately, many of Nevada's historic markers fall into the problem of a higher "visibility" rating than "accessibility". Always have a keen set of eyes when hunting our historic markers! The following scale was taken from an UNBIASED standpoint, pretending that I, was a visitor to the Silver State, never having ever stepped foot onto Nevada's soil in attempt to find them for the first time. Marker Type: As abundant and scattered as they are, you'll also find wide variety in our state's historic markers. There are 4 types of historic marker in Nevada... "Standard", "Metal", "Stone" and "Classic". The most common is the "Standard" issue, shaped like Nevada's outline in blue. Another is the "Metal", the 2nd most common in Nevada and is a traditional metal plaque on a concrete tower or slab that most other states use, especially California. The other is the "Stone", one of the original types of historical marker before they all switched to the Standard. Finally, although rare, there is the "Classic". These are small metal plaques, maybe 11" x 8" found on either stone slabs or on buildings themselves. This "Classic" type was the standard issue before 1970 in the original state historic marker system. The entire system was redone and now only a handful of these "Classic" plaques are left, mostly in Western Nevada. Standard Type In this "Standard" issue, there are three sizes:   Miniature, Medium and Large. The Miniature version are tiny, roughly 24" x 12" and usually found with historic buildings, such as the Union Hotel in Dayton (#186), International Hotel in Austin (#208), Mackay Mansion in Virginia City (#132) and Eureka County Courthouse in Eureka (#80). Here is an example below... The Medium version vary between 4-5 ft. tall and are found widely around the Silver State... The Large version are the most abundantly found in Nevada, varying between 5-7 feet tall! Some are jokingly huge, almost unnecessarily tall! A great example is shown below, Columbus - Marker #20. I am 6'4 and as you can see, the marker was well over my head at probably 7 1/2 feet! Metal Type "Metal" plaques are the 2nd most common in Nevada and can be found virtually anywhere a standard plaque would be. Metal plaques can either be found on concrete towers or slabs and often times, right on buildings themselves. Here are a few examples below... "Metal" plaque on its own slab and/or tower... "Metal" plaque on building... Stone Type "Stone" markers are descendants of the original types of historical marker before the system was revised in the 70's. Notably, only small numbered markers are in the "Stone" version and there aren't very many left in Nevada, leaving them quite rare. The last type of marker is the "Classic" version. This "Classic" type was the standard issue before 1970 in the original state historic marker system. The entire system was redone and now only a handful of these "Classic" plaques are left throughout Nevada. Of all 267 markers, less than 10% still hold the "Classic" plaque. To know... Nevada is unique in that it's pretty much unchanged from its past days when it first came into statehood. Ghost towns still sit under the desert sun and its people are more laid back than anywhere else. Lunch isn't always at noon. Sometimes it's what's for dinner. It's not uncommon for some locals to drive a 100 miles to get gas or visit the grocery store. Expect to follow in the way of the local if you plan to visit Nevada's landmarks. Except for major towns, rarely will you find a landmark less than 30 miles from each other. This is especially true in Nevada's 'open' counties such as Nye, Lincoln, White Pine or Mineral. "What's your point?", you ask. Well, before hitting the road, keep these things in mind at all times. It may just come in handy. "The City". When locals talk about 'going to the city'... don't expect that 'city' to have more than 2,000 people. The average population for a Nevada town is exactly that, 2,000 people. More than 60% of Nevada's towns are small communities of no more than a few hundred residents and more than 25% of them are only accessible via long dirt roads. Be respectful. Us Nevada folk are very kind and take well to newcomers, most of the time. I say this because all we ask is you respect our privacy and the privacy of our neighbors. Some communities in Nevada, such as Unionville or Cherry Creek are just a handful of new houses or mobile homes, mixed in with the remnants of its original state. Feel free to visit history, engage in it, but do respect the person who may live only a few feet away. Water. Carry water with you at all times! I can't express this enough. Nevada is truly lonely territory once you leave the comfort of town and don't be surprised if you pass only a handful of cars. Carry at least two gallons of water with at all times. Open Range. Nevada is an open range state, meaning cattle have the right of way at all times. Keep your eyes out for livestock who happen onto the road and always yield for them. The same goes wild horses and burros, or any of Nevada's wildlife. There's more out here than you think! The Limit. Nevada's average speed limit is 65 MPH. However, you will find stretches of road that possess a 70MPH speed limit, such as US 95, NV 160 or I-80. Always drive the speed limit, even if there's no one around for miles (which will be quite often). Self-sufficiency. That's right. You have to have an almost self-sufficient attitude if you live in Nevada. Cell phones are a great thing, but don't rely heavily on them. Instead, if you're going to be out for a long time, always tell somebody where you're going if you should run into trouble. Remember: if you should break down, help is usually a very long way away. The only towing around for a 100 miles is usually the only one in town that lies 50 miles away! Always think ahead, use common sense and learn to be self-sufficient. After all... it couldn't hurt anyways. This ain't Kansas anymore! Welcome to a raw state. Nevada will not be your stern father or compassionate mother. It's a state that will only say, "I told you so". Thanks for stopping by. See you out there!

Partnered with

Sierra Life Photography
Copyright © Paul Sebesta.