Deep Hole

Deep Hole is located on Highway 447 west of Gerlach near the Smoke Creek Desert road and Planet X Pottery. Deep Hole was founded by Ladue Vary in 1856 who created a stone building that still stands. (Vary went on to found Varyville).

Ingalls writes: "Deep Hole is at the north end of Smith (sic) Creek Desert, 115 miles north of Reno, nine miles northwest of Gerlach, on Western Pacific Railway, which is its telegraph, express and shipping station. It was named after several deep springs near by."

Frederick W. Lander negotiated peace with Numaga at Deep Hole on August 21, 1860.

Louis Gerlach owned Deep Hole and hired James Raser as his ranch foreman.

Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker were at Deep Hole. UNR has a picture description.

Census data for W.R. Whitaker,

• 1880 Census Data for Deep Hole
  • Miller, David C. 41 M FARMER ROOP DEEP HOLE FARM 1880
  • Miller, Jenny 52 F KEEPING HOUSE ROOP DEEP HOLE FARM 1880
  • Miller, James 18 M LABORER ROOP DEEP HOLE FARM 1880
  • Miller, Maggie 15 F KEEPING HOUSE ROOP DEEP HOLE FARM 1880
  • Miller, William 14 M LABORER ROOP DEEP HOLE FARM 1880
  • Miller, James C. 25 M LABORER ROOP DEEP HOLE FARM 1880
  • Roberts, Julius 21 M LABORER ROOP DEEP HOLE FARM 1880
  • Donnelly, James 47 M VAQUERO ROOP DEEP HOLE FARM 1880

Could James Donnelly be who named Donnelly Peak?

References

• Numaga, Wikipedia. Discussion of the Paiute War
• BLM, "Emigrant Trails in the Black Rock Desert," Technical Report 6, 1980. (Information about Ladue Vary.)
• THE HISTORY OF NEVADA, CHAPTER LVIII., WASHOE COUNTY, BY MAJOR G. W. INGALLS. From The History of Nevada, edited by Sam P. Davis, vol. II (1912) (Description of location of Deep Hole.)
• Gary L. Ecelbargerm, "Frederick W. Lander: The Great Natural American Soldier," p 69.
• H.F. Bonham, Jr., L.J. Garside, R.B. Jones, K.G. Papke, J.Quade, and J.V. Tingle, OF1985-03: A mineral inventory of the Paradise-Denio -- and Sonoma-Gerlach Resource Areas, Winnemucca District, Nevada," Deephole District, p. 28, 1985.

See Also

• Asa Merrill Fairfield, "Fairfield's Pioneer History of Lassen County, California: Containing ...," p 89 (1916). Description of Vary searching for cattle stolen from Deep Hole. (Full text from Archive.org.)
• GNIS Deep Hole Deep Hole Post Office, Deep Hole Spring and Deephole Ranch are other GNIS names located at the same location.
• George Duncan, "Copy of letter to his sister, May 13, 1894 and notes of his traveling from Rye Patch to Sisson, April 30-May 13, 1894, including stops at Rabbit Hole, Granite Creek, Deep Hole, Smoke Creek, Susanville, Eagle Lake, Haden Hill, Bieber, Fall River Valley, Pittsville, Glenburg, Dana, Mt. Shasta, and Bartles," Nevada Historical Society.