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Pershing County
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Founded on March 18, 1919, Pershing County was named in honor of Gen. John J. Pershing, Commander in Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I. Here in Nevada, France doesn't even come to mind. In fact to most people, little else comes to mind when the name "Pershing County" comes to mind, except for relentless desert and pit stops. Known mostly for its vast open deserts and seemingly empty mountain ranges, Pershing County is a hidden gem offering worthy of hardened exploration. However, one must force himself off that darned Interstate. Like Humboldt County to the east, Pershing County depends on Interstate 80 as a vital link to the outside world; in essence, Pershing is blessed and cursed by a concrete monster.
Perhaps Interstate 80 laughs in the face of Pershing County, using its concrete as a downright monopoly in terms of people getting around the land. Without the Interstate, the only way to get around Pershing County are lonely dirt roads. But then again, who cares?! Whether a person visits or lives in Pershing, a sense of pace anything faster than a slow walk is considered alien. There are other incentives to leaving that Interstate bully; some of Nevada's best "ghost towns" lie hidden within the county's borders. Places like Rochester was a town of three sister districts, both a railroad child and an 'orphaned' mining camp. Few people can ignore Star City's rugged terrain that challenged many a miner's axe day-in and day-out. Of course who can forget Unionville, a beautiful oasis in the shadow of the mountains? In 1861, a young Sam Clemens began his mining career in Unionville, eventually quitting the job to move westward to Aurora, Candelaria and Virginia City. Northward from the Interstate, lies Pershing's famous Seven Troughs district, home to a dozen old mining camps, some of which are still occupied by those die-hard locals mentioned previously. The ruins of Mazuma hold memories of a freak disaster that completely destroyed the town in 1872. The old camp of Vernon waits to tell its story about deceptive fortune, a place where men found gold veins, risked thousands to mine the material but never found what they were looking for; Vernon's fortune proved elusive after a decade of hard, expensive and disgustful labor! Eventually, gold and silver were eked out of the mountain wall, but at a huge price. Seven Troughs was the largest city in the district that prospered for close to twenty years; before succumbing to its bust, the people of Seven Troughs left behind some gorgeous ruins, along with a cemetery and some awesome energy to tell the true story. Grand vistas in Sulphur, on Pershing's northern border, offer excellent views of the Black Rock Desert: vistas that command a grand perspective on everything and nothing at the same time. The next time travelers ply Interstate 80 through Pershing County, they need to think twice before saying... "There's nothing here!" Unless a person leaves that concrete, sees and breathes the land before him, such feeble-minded people have no right to say anything at all.
The Markers
...Tabula Rasa my friends.
Historical Markers of Pershing County (6)
In days before modern man, the Pershing County of yesteryear was a true wilderness in the Great Basin, however, imagining this wilderness is difficult when a person is stuck on the Interstate. New perspectives on Pershing's unassuming land can be gained by heading away from the Interstate and outward into the vastness; a single soul can breathe in Pershing's isolation by plying its long dirt roads. Trust me folks, adventurers aren't the only ones to have the same idea. Sprinkling throughout Pershing's boundaries are tiny smatterings of population, fastened locals who've set up shop next to an old mine working and old mining camps hoping to strike it rich one last time. Perhaps these die-hards just wanted to get the hell away from the Interstate and the society the freeway brings. If it weren't for lonely dirt roads spanning the county's expanse, these rugged locals would likely disappear forever from the rest of the outside world. (Sounds like paradise to me.) For example, Scossa or Jungo are former railroad sidings sitting right on the edge of the Black Rock Desert. Although the railroad is now a memory, these sidings might've been taken up by such reclusive locals, local people who enjoy the thought of having a complete desert to themselves. Frankly, can you blame them?
Look on any map of Pershing County and see for yourself: Pershing County is truly lonely land. I only say this based on the norms of modern-day society. Man today clings to the aspect of having a paved road to get him to and from a place and time; a stoplight is needed to tell us when to tell him stop and when to go. A trip out here will remind him just what our ancestors learned to love and hate, realizing that sometimes nothing at all is a beautiful thing! Ask any Nevadan and most will tell you that this stretch of Interstate 80 (through Pershing County) is the 'worst'. Even with the slight blue sliver of Rye Patch Reservoir, many people would say there is little to break the relentless monotony of Pershing's barren mountains and vast emptyness. For some people like myself, a trip to Pershing's land is a nice reminder of what the true Nevada. The renewed perspective is still hard to take in because of that darned Interstate, an ugly, gray beast that always brings you back to the thoughts of civilization. Fortunately, there are three markers that force you off of that dreaded Interstate, putting you right into the heart of lonesome Nevada! Pershing's largest community is Lovelock, the county seat with two thousand year-round souls; although Lovelock is 'the city' in terms of Pershing language, my recommendation would be to use either Winnemucca or Mill City as a base for your marker hunting. During our conquering in 2006, we chose Mill City; all but one of Pershing's markers is situated around Mill City. Ironically, the only out-of-the-way marker is right in downtown Lovelock, a long fifty mile diversion from Mill City. From Winnemucca, Pershing's markers are only thirty miles away. Mill City is little more than a large travel station for truckers, but it does come complete with dependable gas, two restaurants, a casino, auto repair garage, a motel, even a trucker's church (a tractor trailer converted into a house of worship). If you like old-fashioned traditions, you can book a night in Unionville's only bed & breakfast, a lovely inn and experience that's worlds away from the Interstate. In terms of sheer convenience, Unionville or Mill City serve as better bases than Lovelock. Whichever decision you make, hunting for Pershing's markers can be one of either adventure or monotony. Like its desert, the perspective is yours alone...
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