Historical Markers of Lyon County
Location: Western Lyon County, Silver City NEW LOCATION: Virginia City (Storey County) Directions: "Marker located along SR 342 in Silver City" NEW DIRECTIONS: Along SR 342 in an NDOT Maintenance Station (Permission Required)
Date Conquered: 5/30/08 Nearest Intersection: Toll Rd. Quick Description: A marker remembering one of the largest foundries (smelters) in Nevada. Signed: No -- Historically, this marker was signed. Due to the turnout's controversy, it is likely the owner of the property took it upon himself to remove the sign to erase McCone's existence from active marker hunters. No signs exist today. NOTES: Sometimes it just takes a little diversion to find what you seek. That is case here. We would've never found this marker had we not been having a little bit of off-road fun! Heather happened to spot the backsides of three old markers at the maintenance station on Ophir Grade. We found #185 leaning against a building in the maintenance yard north of its supposed location. Needless to say, we almost lost our breath when we discovered this marker is STILL ALIVE! Although #185 is missing from it's supposed-to-be location, more or less it is intact and ready for conquering. This turnout is where #185 used to be located, liberally posted with erroneous metal drums reading "PVT PROP!"... "KEEP OUT!". NDOT was ordered by the Preservation Office to remove it to prevent further conflict from the owner. Now this image is a sad reminder of someone's unwillingness to share history. The time came to investigate, and we received a nice chunk of information from the NDOT official in the yard (who permitted us to see the markers.) Apparently, the turnout where #185 was placed is PRIVATE PROPERTY and NDOT was ordered by the SHPO to remove it to prevent further conflict. It has since never been replaced; sadly, as long as that turnout is privately owned, there are no plans in the works to ever re-erect #185. The official himself was confused as to why that turnout was a parcel of private land, considering the highway itself is state owned. All turnouts along state highways are supposed to belong to the state. In any case, as of today they (NDOT) are 'just waiting for the forces at be' to give them the okay to re-locate #185 somewhere else. The official reassured me that the markers (#185 included) weren't going to be disposed of. After a recent visit, I learned the three markers have since been moved inside the warehouse to prevent further rust from rain and snow. In closing, #185 is not back by any means. I just feel better that I have technically captured this missing marker and was able to shed some light on its disappearance. Enjoy. Full Description: Exact description as reads ... Amazingly, the plaque is in excellent condition! Well readable and proof that is was taken down in a haste! Messers. Mead, McCone and Tascar first established a foundry in this area in 1862 at Johntown two miles southeast of here in Gold Canyon. After two years they moved their operation to this point and erected a large granite building. John McCone became the sole proprietor in 1866. A fire on May 15, 1872, left nothing standing but the walls. McCone then bought the Fulton Foundry in Virginia City and made it the largest in the state; 110 men were employed at its peak. All the early castings of the Virginia and Truckee Railway were manufactured at Fulton's. The largest casting (in its time) poured on the Pacific Coast was made at Fulton's on December 11, 1880. A little rusted, but in fairly decent shape! The other two markers underneath are the old versions of #226 (Great Fire of 1875) and #223 (Devil's Gate) before they were replaced with the newer metal versions! This makes me wonder just how many of these older versions NDOT has in storage around the state! ** This is a PRIVATE STATE FACILITY. Permission is REQUIRED to any and all visits to #185 ** - Found while 'Missing in Action' - (Found May 5, 2008) Status: FOUND AND ACCOUNTED FOR! Here's the deal about this one. Like the other MIA's, this one magically disappeared one day without explanation. Fellow marker hunter Dave S, was actively finding information on what happened to #185 and contacted me to find out more information. He sent this picture to me via email that he took in 2002, a rare photo of #185's better days... Thanks to Dave S. for this photo. Taken in 2002. Driving SR 342 today, it's easily visible where the marker used to be... at a large turnout about fifty yards north of the junction with SR 341 & 342 in Silver City. Today, all that sits there is a collection of litter barrels guarding the entrance with ominous signs that read "PVT PROP, KEEP OUT!" Both Dave and I had been actively trying to find out what happened to this marker and it did us little good when the SHPO didn't know either. As you saw, that trip behind Virginia City on Ophir Grade one day finally revealed this marker's location after nearly a decade of its disappearance. We are at least grateful to have closed the case on this story.
NOTES: Sometimes it just takes a little diversion to find what you seek. That is case here. We would've never found this marker had we not been having a little bit of off-road fun! Heather happened to spot the backsides of three old markers at the maintenance station on Ophir Grade. We found #185 leaning against a building in the maintenance yard north of its supposed location. Needless to say, we almost lost our breath when we discovered this marker is STILL ALIVE! Although #185 is missing from it's supposed-to-be location, more or less it is intact and ready for conquering. This turnout is where #185 used to be located, liberally posted with erroneous metal drums reading "PVT PROP!"... "KEEP OUT!". NDOT was ordered by the Preservation Office to remove it to prevent further conflict from the owner. Now this image is a sad reminder of someone's unwillingness to share history. The time came to investigate, and we received a nice chunk of information from the NDOT official in the yard (who permitted us to see the markers.) Apparently, the turnout where #185 was placed is PRIVATE PROPERTY and NDOT was ordered by the SHPO to remove it to prevent further conflict. It has since never been replaced; sadly, as long as that turnout is privately owned, there are no plans in the works to ever re-erect #185. The official himself was confused as to why that turnout was a parcel of private land, considering the highway itself is state owned. All turnouts along state highways are supposed to belong to the state. In any case, as of today they (NDOT) are 'just waiting for the forces at be' to give them the okay to re-locate #185 somewhere else. The official reassured me that the markers (#185 included) weren't going to be disposed of. After a recent visit, I learned the three markers have since been moved inside the warehouse to prevent further rust from rain and snow. In closing, #185 is not back by any means. I just feel better that I have technically captured this missing marker and was able to shed some light on its disappearance. Enjoy. Full Description: Exact description as reads ... Amazingly, the plaque is in excellent condition! Well readable and proof that is was taken down in a haste! Messers. Mead, McCone and Tascar first established a foundry in this area in 1862 at Johntown two miles southeast of here in Gold Canyon. After two years they moved their operation to this point and erected a large granite building. John McCone became the sole proprietor in 1866. A fire on May 15, 1872, left nothing standing but the walls. McCone then bought the Fulton Foundry in Virginia City and made it the largest in the state; 110 men were employed at its peak. All the early castings of the Virginia and Truckee Railway were manufactured at Fulton's. The largest casting (in its time) poured on the Pacific Coast was made at Fulton's on December 11, 1880. A little rusted, but in fairly decent shape! The other two markers underneath are the old versions of #226 (Great Fire of 1875) and #223 (Devil's Gate) before they were replaced with the newer metal versions! This makes me wonder just how many of these older versions NDOT has in storage around the state! ** This is a PRIVATE STATE FACILITY. Permission is REQUIRED to any and all visits to #185 ** - Found while 'Missing in Action' - (Found May 5, 2008) Status: FOUND AND ACCOUNTED FOR! Here's the deal about this one. Like the other MIA's, this one magically disappeared one day without explanation. Fellow marker hunter Dave S, was actively finding information on what happened to #185 and contacted me to find out more information. He sent this picture to me via email that he took in 2002, a rare photo of #185's better days... Thanks to Dave S. for this photo. Taken in 2002. Driving SR 342 today, it's easily visible where the marker used to be... at a large turnout about fifty yards north of the junction with SR 341 & 342 in Silver City. Today, all that sits there is a collection of litter barrels guarding the entrance with ominous signs that read "PVT PROP, KEEP OUT!" Both Dave and I had been actively trying to find out what happened to this marker and it did us little good when the SHPO didn't know either. As you saw, that trip behind Virginia City on Ophir Grade one day finally revealed this marker's location after nearly a decade of its disappearance. We are at least grateful to have closed the case on this story.
The time came to investigate, and we received a nice chunk of information from the NDOT official in the yard (who permitted us to see the markers.) Apparently, the turnout where #185 was placed is PRIVATE PROPERTY and NDOT was ordered by the SHPO to remove it to prevent further conflict. It has since never been replaced; sadly, as long as that turnout is privately owned, there are no plans in the works to ever re-erect #185. The official himself was confused as to why that turnout was a parcel of private land, considering the highway itself is state owned. All turnouts along state highways are supposed to belong to the state. In any case, as of today they (NDOT) are 'just waiting for the forces at be' to give them the okay to re-locate #185 somewhere else. The official reassured me that the markers (#185 included) weren't going to be disposed of. After a recent visit, I learned the three markers have since been moved inside the warehouse to prevent further rust from rain and snow. In closing, #185 is not back by any means. I just feel better that I have technically captured this missing marker and was able to shed some light on its disappearance. Enjoy.
Full Description: Exact description as reads ... Amazingly, the plaque is in excellent condition! Well readable and proof that is was taken down in a haste! Messers. Mead, McCone and Tascar first established a foundry in this area in 1862 at Johntown two miles southeast of here in Gold Canyon. After two years they moved their operation to this point and erected a large granite building. John McCone became the sole proprietor in 1866. A fire on May 15, 1872, left nothing standing but the walls. McCone then bought the Fulton Foundry in Virginia City and made it the largest in the state; 110 men were employed at its peak. All the early castings of the Virginia and Truckee Railway were manufactured at Fulton's. The largest casting (in its time) poured on the Pacific Coast was made at Fulton's on December 11, 1880. A little rusted, but in fairly decent shape! The other two markers underneath are the old versions of #226 (Great Fire of 1875) and #223 (Devil's Gate) before they were replaced with the newer metal versions! This makes me wonder just how many of these older versions NDOT has in storage around the state! ** This is a PRIVATE STATE FACILITY. Permission is REQUIRED to any and all visits to #185 ** - Found while 'Missing in Action' - (Found May 5, 2008) Status: FOUND AND ACCOUNTED FOR! Here's the deal about this one. Like the other MIA's, this one magically disappeared one day without explanation. Fellow marker hunter Dave S, was actively finding information on what happened to #185 and contacted me to find out more information. He sent this picture to me via email that he took in 2002, a rare photo of #185's better days... Thanks to Dave S. for this photo. Taken in 2002. Driving SR 342 today, it's easily visible where the marker used to be... at a large turnout about fifty yards north of the junction with SR 341 & 342 in Silver City. Today, all that sits there is a collection of litter barrels guarding the entrance with ominous signs that read "PVT PROP, KEEP OUT!" Both Dave and I had been actively trying to find out what happened to this marker and it did us little good when the SHPO didn't know either. As you saw, that trip behind Virginia City on Ophir Grade one day finally revealed this marker's location after nearly a decade of its disappearance. We are at least grateful to have closed the case on this story.
Messers. Mead, McCone and Tascar first established a foundry in this area in 1862 at Johntown two miles southeast of here in Gold Canyon. After two years they moved their operation to this point and erected a large granite building. John McCone became the sole proprietor in 1866. A fire on May 15, 1872, left nothing standing but the walls. McCone then bought the Fulton Foundry in Virginia City and made it the largest in the state; 110 men were employed at its peak. All the early castings of the Virginia and Truckee Railway were manufactured at Fulton's. The largest casting (in its time) poured on the Pacific Coast was made at Fulton's on December 11, 1880. A little rusted, but in fairly decent shape! The other two markers underneath are the old versions of #226 (Great Fire of 1875) and #223 (Devil's Gate) before they were replaced with the newer metal versions! This makes me wonder just how many of these older versions NDOT has in storage around the state! ** This is a PRIVATE STATE FACILITY. Permission is REQUIRED to any and all visits to #185 ** - Found while 'Missing in Action' - (Found May 5, 2008) Status: FOUND AND ACCOUNTED FOR! Here's the deal about this one. Like the other MIA's, this one magically disappeared one day without explanation. Fellow marker hunter Dave S, was actively finding information on what happened to #185 and contacted me to find out more information. He sent this picture to me via email that he took in 2002, a rare photo of #185's better days... Thanks to Dave S. for this photo. Taken in 2002. Driving SR 342 today, it's easily visible where the marker used to be... at a large turnout about fifty yards north of the junction with SR 341 & 342 in Silver City. Today, all that sits there is a collection of litter barrels guarding the entrance with ominous signs that read "PVT PROP, KEEP OUT!" Both Dave and I had been actively trying to find out what happened to this marker and it did us little good when the SHPO didn't know either. As you saw, that trip behind Virginia City on Ophir Grade one day finally revealed this marker's location after nearly a decade of its disappearance. We are at least grateful to have closed the case on this story.
A fire on May 15, 1872, left nothing standing but the walls. McCone then bought the Fulton Foundry in Virginia City and made it the largest in the state; 110 men were employed at its peak. All the early castings of the Virginia and Truckee Railway were manufactured at Fulton's. The largest casting (in its time) poured on the Pacific Coast was made at Fulton's on December 11, 1880. A little rusted, but in fairly decent shape! The other two markers underneath are the old versions of #226 (Great Fire of 1875) and #223 (Devil's Gate) before they were replaced with the newer metal versions! This makes me wonder just how many of these older versions NDOT has in storage around the state! ** This is a PRIVATE STATE FACILITY. Permission is REQUIRED to any and all visits to #185 ** - Found while 'Missing in Action' - (Found May 5, 2008) Status: FOUND AND ACCOUNTED FOR! Here's the deal about this one. Like the other MIA's, this one magically disappeared one day without explanation. Fellow marker hunter Dave S, was actively finding information on what happened to #185 and contacted me to find out more information. He sent this picture to me via email that he took in 2002, a rare photo of #185's better days... Thanks to Dave S. for this photo. Taken in 2002. Driving SR 342 today, it's easily visible where the marker used to be... at a large turnout about fifty yards north of the junction with SR 341 & 342 in Silver City. Today, all that sits there is a collection of litter barrels guarding the entrance with ominous signs that read "PVT PROP, KEEP OUT!" Both Dave and I had been actively trying to find out what happened to this marker and it did us little good when the SHPO didn't know either. As you saw, that trip behind Virginia City on Ophir Grade one day finally revealed this marker's location after nearly a decade of its disappearance. We are at least grateful to have closed the case on this story.
McCone then bought the Fulton Foundry in Virginia City and made it the largest in the state; 110 men were employed at its peak. All the early castings of the Virginia and Truckee Railway were manufactured at Fulton's. The largest casting (in its time) poured on the Pacific Coast was made at Fulton's on December 11, 1880. A little rusted, but in fairly decent shape! The other two markers underneath are the old versions of #226 (Great Fire of 1875) and #223 (Devil's Gate) before they were replaced with the newer metal versions! This makes me wonder just how many of these older versions NDOT has in storage around the state! ** This is a PRIVATE STATE FACILITY. Permission is REQUIRED to any and all visits to #185 ** - Found while 'Missing in Action' - (Found May 5, 2008) Status: FOUND AND ACCOUNTED FOR! Here's the deal about this one. Like the other MIA's, this one magically disappeared one day without explanation. Fellow marker hunter Dave S, was actively finding information on what happened to #185 and contacted me to find out more information. He sent this picture to me via email that he took in 2002, a rare photo of #185's better days... Thanks to Dave S. for this photo. Taken in 2002. Driving SR 342 today, it's easily visible where the marker used to be... at a large turnout about fifty yards north of the junction with SR 341 & 342 in Silver City. Today, all that sits there is a collection of litter barrels guarding the entrance with ominous signs that read "PVT PROP, KEEP OUT!" Both Dave and I had been actively trying to find out what happened to this marker and it did us little good when the SHPO didn't know either. As you saw, that trip behind Virginia City on Ophir Grade one day finally revealed this marker's location after nearly a decade of its disappearance. We are at least grateful to have closed the case on this story.
All the early castings of the Virginia and Truckee Railway were manufactured at Fulton's. The largest casting (in its time) poured on the Pacific Coast was made at Fulton's on December 11, 1880. A little rusted, but in fairly decent shape! The other two markers underneath are the old versions of #226 (Great Fire of 1875) and #223 (Devil's Gate) before they were replaced with the newer metal versions! This makes me wonder just how many of these older versions NDOT has in storage around the state! ** This is a PRIVATE STATE FACILITY. Permission is REQUIRED to any and all visits to #185 ** - Found while 'Missing in Action' - (Found May 5, 2008) Status: FOUND AND ACCOUNTED FOR! Here's the deal about this one. Like the other MIA's, this one magically disappeared one day without explanation. Fellow marker hunter Dave S, was actively finding information on what happened to #185 and contacted me to find out more information. He sent this picture to me via email that he took in 2002, a rare photo of #185's better days... Thanks to Dave S. for this photo. Taken in 2002. Driving SR 342 today, it's easily visible where the marker used to be... at a large turnout about fifty yards north of the junction with SR 341 & 342 in Silver City. Today, all that sits there is a collection of litter barrels guarding the entrance with ominous signs that read "PVT PROP, KEEP OUT!" Both Dave and I had been actively trying to find out what happened to this marker and it did us little good when the SHPO didn't know either. As you saw, that trip behind Virginia City on Ophir Grade one day finally revealed this marker's location after nearly a decade of its disappearance. We are at least grateful to have closed the case on this story.
The largest casting (in its time) poured on the Pacific Coast was made at Fulton's on December 11, 1880. A little rusted, but in fairly decent shape! The other two markers underneath are the old versions of #226 (Great Fire of 1875) and #223 (Devil's Gate) before they were replaced with the newer metal versions! This makes me wonder just how many of these older versions NDOT has in storage around the state! ** This is a PRIVATE STATE FACILITY. Permission is REQUIRED to any and all visits to #185 ** - Found while 'Missing in Action' - (Found May 5, 2008) Status: FOUND AND ACCOUNTED FOR! Here's the deal about this one. Like the other MIA's, this one magically disappeared one day without explanation. Fellow marker hunter Dave S, was actively finding information on what happened to #185 and contacted me to find out more information. He sent this picture to me via email that he took in 2002, a rare photo of #185's better days... Thanks to Dave S. for this photo. Taken in 2002. Driving SR 342 today, it's easily visible where the marker used to be... at a large turnout about fifty yards north of the junction with SR 341 & 342 in Silver City. Today, all that sits there is a collection of litter barrels guarding the entrance with ominous signs that read "PVT PROP, KEEP OUT!" Both Dave and I had been actively trying to find out what happened to this marker and it did us little good when the SHPO didn't know either. As you saw, that trip behind Virginia City on Ophir Grade one day finally revealed this marker's location after nearly a decade of its disappearance. We are at least grateful to have closed the case on this story.
** This is a PRIVATE STATE FACILITY. Permission is REQUIRED to any and all visits to #185 ** - Found while 'Missing in Action' - (Found May 5, 2008) Status: FOUND AND ACCOUNTED FOR! Here's the deal about this one. Like the other MIA's, this one magically disappeared one day without explanation. Fellow marker hunter Dave S, was actively finding information on what happened to #185 and contacted me to find out more information. He sent this picture to me via email that he took in 2002, a rare photo of #185's better days... Thanks to Dave S. for this photo. Taken in 2002. Driving SR 342 today, it's easily visible where the marker used to be... at a large turnout about fifty yards north of the junction with SR 341 & 342 in Silver City. Today, all that sits there is a collection of litter barrels guarding the entrance with ominous signs that read "PVT PROP, KEEP OUT!" Both Dave and I had been actively trying to find out what happened to this marker and it did us little good when the SHPO didn't know either. As you saw, that trip behind Virginia City on Ophir Grade one day finally revealed this marker's location after nearly a decade of its disappearance. We are at least grateful to have closed the case on this story.
- Found while 'Missing in Action' - (Found May 5, 2008) Status: FOUND AND ACCOUNTED FOR! Here's the deal about this one. Like the other MIA's, this one magically disappeared one day without explanation. Fellow marker hunter Dave S, was actively finding information on what happened to #185 and contacted me to find out more information. He sent this picture to me via email that he took in 2002, a rare photo of #185's better days... Thanks to Dave S. for this photo. Taken in 2002. Driving SR 342 today, it's easily visible where the marker used to be... at a large turnout about fifty yards north of the junction with SR 341 & 342 in Silver City. Today, all that sits there is a collection of litter barrels guarding the entrance with ominous signs that read "PVT PROP, KEEP OUT!" Both Dave and I had been actively trying to find out what happened to this marker and it did us little good when the SHPO didn't know either. As you saw, that trip behind Virginia City on Ophir Grade one day finally revealed this marker's location after nearly a decade of its disappearance. We are at least grateful to have closed the case on this story.
Status: FOUND AND ACCOUNTED FOR! Here's the deal about this one. Like the other MIA's, this one magically disappeared one day without explanation. Fellow marker hunter Dave S, was actively finding information on what happened to #185 and contacted me to find out more information. He sent this picture to me via email that he took in 2002, a rare photo of #185's better days... Thanks to Dave S. for this photo. Taken in 2002. Driving SR 342 today, it's easily visible where the marker used to be... at a large turnout about fifty yards north of the junction with SR 341 & 342 in Silver City. Today, all that sits there is a collection of litter barrels guarding the entrance with ominous signs that read "PVT PROP, KEEP OUT!" Both Dave and I had been actively trying to find out what happened to this marker and it did us little good when the SHPO didn't know either. As you saw, that trip behind Virginia City on Ophir Grade one day finally revealed this marker's location after nearly a decade of its disappearance. We are at least grateful to have closed the case on this story.
Driving SR 342 today, it's easily visible where the marker used to be... at a large turnout about fifty yards north of the junction with SR 341 & 342 in Silver City. Today, all that sits there is a collection of litter barrels guarding the entrance with ominous signs that read "PVT PROP, KEEP OUT!" Both Dave and I had been actively trying to find out what happened to this marker and it did us little good when the SHPO didn't know either. As you saw, that trip behind Virginia City on Ophir Grade one day finally revealed this marker's location after nearly a decade of its disappearance. We are at least grateful to have closed the case on this story.
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