"HUNTINGTON VALLEY (HUNTINGTON)(ROBINSON STATION)(TAFT STATION)(HARDY STATION)(SADLER RANCH)(DUTCHMAN'S) Photos

Huntington Valley was first settled during the 1860s. The Hastings Cutoff traversed the valley and the Donner Party passed through in 1846 on their way to doom in the Sierras. With the establishment of the Hill Beachey and George Shepherd stage roads to Hamilton, a number of stations were setup in the valley. Robinson Station was the break off point for a branch of the stageline that went to Eureka via Red Rock Pass. Taft Station, also known as Hardy Station, was a diversion point for Beachey's line to Eureka which went through Railroad Canyon. The Sadler Ranch, named for Nevada Governor Reinhold Sadler, was the juncture for both the Beachey and Shepherd roads. The 1880 census listed the valley's population as 101. The post office closed in July 1904. Many ranches still are active in Huntington Valley and most have pre-1900 buildings left. The quarried stone building built at the Sadler Ranch remains. While the Porch homestead is long gone, foundations are left as is the small family cemetery containing a few graves. The old stage roads and wagon ruts of the Hastings Cutoff emigrants are also visible."

• "1868 Elko-Hamilton Road opened (Elko, White Pine) by George Shepherd and Frank Denver; also known as Elko-White Pine Toll Road, it connected the newly discovered mines at Treasure City, Hamilton, and Shermantown with the transcontinental railroad line.

• 1869 October: Hill Beachey completed construction of Elko and Idaho Toll Road between Elko and the mines of Mountain City (Elko); road reached the mines at Silver City, Idaho, in 1870. One half the construction cost was donated by merchants of Elko.

• 1869 Construction of Gilson or Hill Beachey Road between the transcontinental railroad line at Elko) and the mines around Hamilton (White Pine).

  [1874 May 26:  Reinhold Sadler marries Louise Zadlow of Hamilton, Nevada]

  1896 April 10: Lieutenant Governor Reinhold Sadler, Silver Republican, became governor of the state upon the death of Governor John E. Jones. Sadler served in the office until the end of the term on January 1, 1903."

"About those tunnels: the story is that because Eureka's breweries were located on opposite ends of town, the heavy winters (and the availability of skilled, experienced miners) prompted the business people to drive tunnels underground from one end of town to the other in order to ensure the prompt delivery of beer to the saloons along Main Street. The truth may not be so prosaic. According to family recollection, Nevada governor Reinhold Sadler (whose two story brick home is half a block north of the Colonnade House) used a tunnel to get to his Main Street store in the winter so that he wouldn't have to meet his neighbors on the street. Much of the old tunneling has collapsed or is unsafe, but in its heyday it was quite comfortable to use, fancy, even, with bricked walls, and arched brick chambers reminiscent of medieval dungeons"

Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly 97-3

SPANISH AMERICAN WAR CAMPS

1898-99 PERIOD  

By Fred M. Greguras

"Camp Sadler, Carson City, NV

·        Reinhold Sadler was acting governor of Nevada when the Spanish American War began and was elected governor in the 1898 election.

·        Camp Sadler was established in June 1898 at the racetrack, east of the capital building, on the outskirts of Carson City.  The site was reportedly crowded, had no shade and the racetrack’s owner wanted the camp moved so the track could be prepared for the fall racing season.  In August, the troops (1st Battalion Nev. Vol. Inf.) were moved to a camp in Treadway Park on the west end of Carson City which was named Camp Clark.  The troops were mustered out by late October 1898.

·        See, generally, Philip Earl’s unpublished masters thesis, Sagebrush Volunteers: Nevadans in the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection, 1896-1900."

DR. MARY HILL FULSTONE

"Mary Hill was born on August 3, 1892, in Eureka, Nevada, as the second child of John and Ella Riley Hill. Her older sister, Jennie, had been born in 1888. John Hill worked for Reinhold Sadler as manager of his large mercantile store in Eureka. After Sadler became governor of the state, he offered Mr. Hill a position as head of commissary at the Nevada State Prison. Hill moved his wife and two young daughters to Carson City in 1896."

CHAPTER XI
HAMILTON WHITE PINE
LODGE NO. 14

"Reinhold Sadler
Distinguished among the Masons who helped to place White Pine lodge among the prominent Masonic lodges of Nevada, in its day, was Reinhold Sadler, whose name stands high on the honor roll of the state. His name appears among the first on the charter roll of White Pine Lodge No. 14.

From the time of his raising as a Master Mason, he was an enthusiastic member of the craft, faithful in attendance at the meetings, and honored in the councils of the lodge.

His fraternal enthusiasm and his grasp of Masonic law and usages, soon caused his merited advancement.

During the year 1876 he served his lodge as master, attending the Grand Lodge the following year. Moving to Eureka, he entered the grocery business, which he conducted for many years. Demitting to Eureka lodge shortly after he left Hamilton, he continued his activity in Masonic work, and was elevated to the master's chair of that lodge in 1880.

His prominence as a business man, his zeal for the party of his choice, his close touch on state affairs, his constructive ability, and his farsightedness, led to his nomination and election as governor of the state in 1894, in which office he served with credit and distinction.

At the close of his term as governor, he returned to Eureka, where he continued his mercantile and business pursuits until the date of his death, which occurred in 1902."

Message to the Legislature of Nevada

Seventieth Session, 1999

    "Lieutenant Governor Hunt, Speaker Dini, Leader Raggio, members of the Legislature, and guests:

    It was 100 years ago that a man by the name of Reinhold Sadler was elected Governor of the State of Nevada. He was the tenth governor of Nevada. He won the election by 63 votes. That sounds like a small number of votes, but really, my election was by a smaller percentage than his 63 votes. History seems to repeat itself. Governor Sadler’s election was contested and we, this year when the contest was filed, used the precedent set in the Sadler election to resolve the issue in my election.

    I am a student of history. I believe that the lessons that we have learned over the last century can help us find our way through the next century. In addition, when I see how far we have come in the last 100 years, it inspires me to think how far we can go in the next 100—if we only have the courage, the will, and really, the imagination.

    In the twentieth century, we saw the United States rise to become the most powerful nation in the history of the world.

    During this same century, we saw Nevada grow from a collection of mining camps in a world dominated by the railroad and the telegraph, to the tourism and gaming capital of a world dominated by the microchip and the satellite.

    In 1899, only 42,000 people lived in the entire State of Nevada, and most of those people around the Reno, Carson City area. Southern Nevada, even Searchlight, was virtually undeveloped then, and uninhabited. Today, our population is approaching two million people; and southern Nevada is the fastest-growing region, in the fastest-growing state, in our rapidly growing nation.

    One hundred years ago, Nevada’s population was not only growing but becoming more diverse. The mines beckoned to the people of Europe—the Slavs, the Irish, the Italians, and the Greeks. Today, in 1999, our population is more diverse than ever, and a new generation of Nevadans hails from more far-flung corners of the globe, more so than ever before.

    Although today’s new arrivals have skin of a different color than they did a century ago, they are, underneath that skin, no different.

    Where the immigrants who contributed to the legacy and heritage of the 20th century were named Laxalt, Dini, Raggio, Del Papa, and Giunchigliani; in the next century they will be named Sandoval, Herrera, Martinez, Wong, and Tran. But, whatever their names—and whether their families have lived in Nevada 100 years, or 100 days—they share the same dreams and aspirations in common with all Americans.

    One hundred years ago, Governor Sadler’s first state of the state address reflected discouragement with a state debt of more than $563,000. The Governor despaired that the state would not be able to provide services to its citizens."

The City's Beginnings

"The city of Las Vegas, population 3,000, incorporated in 1911--32 years after Reno achieved that status 400 miles to the north.

Las Vegas was a wide-open town. It got through Prohibition and the Depression with bootlegging, bawdy houses, quickie divorces and, of course, gambling. While other states were outlawing prize fights, Nevada saw pugilism as a profit maker too. Gov. Reinhold Sadler signed into law the nation's first formal prizefighting legislation, saying, "I believe it will bring not only a great deal of money, but it will bring monied men." Nevadans didn't worry much about their "rotton burrough" reputation as long as the dollars kept flowing."

3

"How many of Nevada's governors had beards during their terms in office? Seven of the state's governors have had beards: Henry Blasdel (1864-70), Lewis Bradley (1871-78), John Kinkead (1879-82), Charles Clark Stevenson (1887-90), Frank Bell (1890), John Jones (1895-96), and Reinhold Sadler (1898-1902). Three others had mustaches: Jewett Adams (1883-86), Roswell Colcord (1891-94), and John Sparks (1903-08). In fact, 10 of the state's first 11 governors had some kind of facial hair. The exception was Territorial Governor James Nye (1864), who was clean-shaven."