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Toano
(sometimes
spelled Toana)
1868 -
1906
Elko County, Nevada
Toano
was once a booming little railroad/shipping center. It was created in
1868 by the Central Pacific railroad. According
to the "Guide Book to
the Pacific Railroad, 1879" site, in 1879 Toano had 'a roundhouse
with 14 stalls and an adjoining shed where two engines could be
sheltered. The town had a population of about 250.'
The NVGHOSTTOWNS.COM
site, states the town prospered up until 1880, then as trade routes changed the town
fell into decline. The
population of Toano in 1895 was 65. In 1906, the town finally
died. The few remaining die-hard residents moved to Cobre, a newer
railroad town, about a mile east of Toano.
All
that remains of Toano now are some rock foundations, scattered artifacts,
mostly broken glass bottles, and a small cemetery on the hill. It also appears that a
small quarry, just west of the town site, is where the stone building
materials were mined and shaped for the town's main buildings.
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USGS
Topographic Map of Toano (1991)
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What's in a name ...
As I read the origins of
railroad town names in Nevada. I find mostly that the origin is
romantically stated to be Shoshone or other Indian names for some feature of
or near the town. For example, the neighboring town of Montello
is said to have originated from the Indian word meaning
"rest". Such is the case of Toano. The name is
generally accepted to be the Shoshone Indian word "for
black topped or black coated, which the nearby mountains appeared to be."
But believe me the railroad wasn't given to the romance of the Indians.
They brought their culture and names with them. Montello
and Toano are actually
towns in Italy. I believe these new railroad towns were most likely
named for either people who had these family names or possibly for the Italian
towns themselves.
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| Town
site
of Toano - looking northwest. The Toano
cemetery is on the hill in the distance. The quarry where
the town's building blocks were most likely obtained is on the left center of the
photo. |
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| The
NVGHOSTTOWNS.COM
site shows this as the foundation of the Cazier Hotel. |
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| Some
artifacts we found at the town site. Chisel, railroad spike,
square nails, trowel, thick glass bottle, shovel, pan and lids.
I left these things at the town site for others to enjoy. It
would be nice if you could too. |
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| just
some other things we saw laying around |
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| Vertical
control marker at town site. |
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| Rock
quarry just west of town. It looks to be a vitric tuff (volcanic
ash-fall) unit. In the quarry you can see where the stones were
mined. They are the same stones that were used in the construction
of some of the town's main buildings. |
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~
Correspondence about Toano ~
Dan Turner:
I'm glad you found the James E Wood letter (1869) of interest.
You have my permission to include it in your website, along with my
e-mail address. Perhaps by some chance someone may know
something of him, and what happened to him. In the
wake of the conditions in the South following the Civil War, many dispirited
Confederate soldiers went "west," to try to start a new
life. James, unmarried, was approximately 27 years old
when the letter was written, and could have lived many more years.
My grandfather also saved letters from James' sisters, Sarah (Sallie)
Wood Dalrymple and Martha (Mattie) Wood Risinger, who lived in central
Alabama (James' original home), and in these letters they refer to
"brother James," but offer no clues as to what finally
happened to him.
When the letter is included in the website, I'd appreciate your
e-mailing me, so that I can see how it looks in the context of
the other Toano material.
Best wishes, Robert E. Parrott |
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Robert E. Parrott,
Thank you for sharing this letter with
me. It has wonderful historical significance as James E. Wood
was cutting ties for the first transcontinental railroad. The
date of June 7, 1869 is just one month (May 10, 1869) after the
golden spike ceremony at Promontory, Utah http://cprr.org/Museum/index.html
James may have attended the ceremony as
it was only about 100 miles east from Toano.
As I recall, there was a great purging
of workers after the rails were connected. It would be
interesting to know if James remained working with one of the
section gangs, stayed around in Nevada working at one of the newly
discovered gold mines or did indeed moved on to another life in
California.
I would like permission to add the
letter to the Toano page with your commentary and e-mail address so
anyone knowing more of Mr. Wood could get in touch with you.
Thank you again. Dan Turner
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 7:46 PM
Subject: Re: letter from Toano, Nevada Territory
Here's
the text of the letter from James E Wood to his first cousin, my
grandfather, John Robert Parrott. {The envelope is
marked with a "PAID Wells, Fargo & Co: Over
our California and Coast Routes," and is addressed to "John
R. Parrott, Many, Pa. Sabine, Parish, La."}
<sic>
"Toano Novado Teritory June th 7/1869
John R. Parrott
Dear Cosin
I seat to drop you a few lines
To let you no that I am
Well at presont hopeing that
These few lines may finde you
And family enjoying the same
Good blesin John I am along
Wayse from you at this time
I am in the Woods choping
Wood at 4 Dollars per
Cord I spect to Stay heare
Tel fall and then I am
Going West to California
And I Will Come and
See you as soon as I can
John I would Wright more
But I have not heard
From you since 1867
So rite Sean and
Direct to me at Toano
C.P.R.R. State of novado
In ceare of Wells fargo
Wright soon and gave
Me all of the news So
Nothing more So I remainde
Your Cosin
James E. Wood"
We know nothing more of James E. Wood following this letter. He was
a Confederate veteran, born ca 1842. This was his last
letter in a series of letters as he worked in various places for the
C.P.R.R. His cousin, John Robert Parrott
(1839-1918), Sabine Parish {Zwolle}, Louisiana, a Confederate
veteran, planter, bank president, and Parish School Board president
saved many letters he received in a flat black trunk which he kept
under his bed. His plantation house burned in 1915, but they
managed to save the black trunk with the letters in it, by taking it
out of a window. I inherited the letters (61 in all) in
the 1960s.
Best wishes, Robert E. Parrott
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Robert E. Parrott,
What an interesting e-mail. Thank
you. I would love a copy of the letter. With you
permission and if applicable I would add it to the Toano page.
I would also submit the copy you send to the Northeast Nevada Museum
http://www.nenv-museum.org/ for
their file on Toano. The next trip down to the museum I will
see if I can locate some information on James E. Wood. I wish
you the best. Dan Turner
cc: Claudia Wines, Director NENM
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 9:02 AM
Subject: letter from Toano, Nevada Territory
I have
enjoyed reading and studying your website on Toano, Nevada,
particularly because in a saved collection of old letters belonging
to my grandfather, John Robert Parrott (1839-1918), of Sabine
Parish, Louisiana, is a letter written from Toano (Nevada
Territory), dated June 7, 1869, by his first cousin, James E. Wood.
In other letters from James E. Wood (including one from Fort
Laramie, in 1867) he identified himself as working for the Central
Pacific Railroad as a woodcutter -- felling trees to make railroad
cross ties. He had gone "west" from Alabama and
Louisiana after the end of the Civil War. How long James
E. Wood (formerly a Confederate soldier) remained in Toano I do not
know, and in fact nothing is known of his further history, after
Toano. I venture the guess that it's possible he died in Toano,
and was buried in the cemetery there -- but this is a wild
conjecture only. He probably moved on somewhere else, with the
railroad. This letter was the last in the collection
from him.
I still have the "Wood Letters," or the
"letters from the West," as my family referred to them.
The one from Toano is in good condition. Its original Wells
Fargo envelope remains. If you would like to have a copy of
the letter for your files, concerning Toano, I will be glad to send
you a copy.
Best wishes, Robert E. Parrott
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The following
newspaper articles about Toano were graciously provided by Judy Swett.
Daily
Nevada State Journal, January 26, 1882, THE ATTEMPTED TRAIN ROBBERY,
Description of the Attack by Wells Fargo's Express Manager
Reno
Evening Gazette, November 12, 1883, TOANO EXCITED, Silver Discoveries
Near Station
Reno
Evening Gazette, November 12, 1883, The Self-Regulating Hazen
Wind-Mill
Reno
Evening Gazette, March 4, 1901, Barney Cosgrove Run Over by Train No.
5 at Toano, Mr. Cosgrove was one of the first train robbers of the
Central Pacific Railroad near Verdi
The Spring, 1975
Quarterly of The Northeastern Nevada Historical Society, available at
the Northeastern Nevada Museum,
has an excellent vignette on this train robbery, on November 6, 1870,
and another train robbery of the same train on November 10, 1870 near
Peoquop, a few miles west of Toano.
Judy Swett also
sent me an article about Barney
J. Cosgrove written by Howard Hickson. If it is the same
person ...
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Additional Information: Northeastern
Nevada Museum
If you know or would like to add anything about this page,
please let me know.
© 2002 - Elko Rose Garden Association
Recent Photos by Dan Turner 5/19/02
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