Timeline

Prehistoric

25,000-11,000 years ago. Lake Lahontan covered the region.

14,800 or 10,500 years ago. Petroglyphs created at Winnemucca Lake. As of 2014, these are the oldest petroglyphs in North America.

1800-10-31 b. Peter Lassen

1843-12-30 "On both sides, the mountains showed often stupendous and curious-looking rocks, which at several places so narrowed the valley, that scarcely a pass was left for the camp. It was a singular place to travel through-shut up in the earth, a sort of chasm, the little strip of grass under our feet, the rough walls of bare rock on either hand, and the narrow strip of sky above. The grass to-night was abundant, and we encamped in high spirits." -- John C. Fremont

1844-01-10 John C. Fremont named Pyramid Lake

1846-07-21 Jesse and Lindsay Applegate headed south from Willamette Valley, Oregon, June 29, 1846, seeking a less hazardous route to that region from the east. On July 21, they came to a large meadow on the Humboldt River, what is now the nearby Rye Patch Reservoir. Thus they established the Applegate Trail.

1848-02-02 The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

1849-08-16 "We started about six o'clock, with anxious hearts and sad forebodings on our perilous journey . . . As I walked on slowly and with effort, I encountered a great many animals, perishing for want of food and water, on the desert plain. Some would be gasping for breath, others unable to stand, would issue low moans as I came up . . . my sympathies were excited at their sufferings, yet, instead of affording them aid, I was a subject for relief myself . . . after covering nearly forty hours without food or water . . .we found this to be an oasis in the desert. A large hot spring [Black Rock Spring] . . . but we found the grass nearly consumed, and our cattle could barely pick enough to sustain life. (Alonzo Delano, August 16-17, 1849)

1849-09-25 "The road terminated as it were, at the edge of the very apex of this hill, and I looked down . . . the declevity and its base, retained vestiges of unfortunate traveling in the shape of broken wagons, wheels, hubs, tires, axels, and 3 dead oxen. (Joseph Goldsborough Bruff, September 25, 1849)

1859-04-26 Peter Lassen murdered in the Black Rock Range.

1860-05-12 First Battle of Pyramid Lake - Northern Paiute warriors, fighting to retain their way of life, decisively defeated a volunteer army from Virginia City and nearby settlements. The battle and consequent white retreat began with a skillful ambush north of Nixon and continued along the plateau on the opposite side of the Truckee River almost to the present site of Wadsworth.

1860-06-12 Second Battle of Pyramid Lake - A strong force of volunteers and regular U.S. Army troops engaged the Indians in battle along the tableland and mountainside. Several hundred braves, attempting a delaying action to allow their women, children and elders to escape, fought with such courage and strategy that the superior Caucasian forces were held back during the day until the Indians withdrew. Paiute war leader Numaga (Young Winnemucca), described as a "superior man of any race," desired only peace for his people.

1865 Camp McGarry here on the old Applegate Trail was an Army fort manned from 1865 to 1868. Troops protected the Idaho-California mail and stage roads and the nearby trails in Nevada and Oregon. Officers' quarters, mess hall, barracks and a 100-horse stone barn were constructed 12 miles south of the fort. In 1866, Camp McGarry was made headquarters of the District of Nevada. In autumn, 1868, troops were moved to Camp Winfield Scott, north of Paradise, Nevada; and Camp McGarry, largest military reservation in Nevada, comprising 75 square miles, was abandoned.

1867-1869 Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel - At Pyramid Lake.

1910-1916 Louise Swesey Schmidt Ch. 2: Life Near Gerlach: 1910-1916 (Oral History, see also Pacific Portland Cement Company)

1943 Black Rock Desert Gunnery Range built.

~1951 Sierra Pacific provides electricity to Gerlach. Before that time, John James Thrasher provide power to residents from a generator. In 1953, Thrasher was electricity from Sierra Power to Gerlach residents.

1955 http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=2090&category=Notes ... As noted in Hollywood Reporter news items, portions of Bad Day at Black Rock were shot on location in Lone Pine, CA. ...

November, 1960 At this point in time, Highway 34 is paved all the way to Gerlach, but there is no regular telephone service, only one radio-phone and Western-Pacific's private line (Peggy Trego, " The 40 Wilderness Miles North of Gerlach, Nevada," Desert Magazine, November, 1960.)

April 29, 1988 1988 Nuclear Verification Experiment - 10 tons of TNT detonated under the Black Rock Desert as part of an experiment in detecting small explosions.

2000-12-21 President Clinton signed The Black Rock Desert - High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trail National Conservation Area Act of 2000, which established 797,000 acres as a NCA and about 75,000 acres as wilderness.

See Also

• History

External Links

• Nevada Timeline