Dayton Historical Society receives money for kiosks

A $9,000 grant will be used by the Dayton Historical Society to erect information kiosks as part of the acquisition and restoration of the Carson & Colorado Railroad Depot.

"I was very pleased that the Rural Community Assistance grant submitted by Dayton Historical Society was approved," said Gary Schiff, Carson District ranger for the U.S. Forest Service. "It is a pleasure to work with the historical society in their efforts to preserve the history of the community and build their economy by attracting more tourists."

Organizers will learn in August if the depot will receive a $600,000 grant from the Nevada Department of Transportation to purchase the site along Main Street, according to Roxie Payne of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce.

"We're on hold until we get the big grant from NDOT," she said Tuesday. "We are going to use the Forest Service grant for the kiosks."

Payne said the $600,000 will pay to restore the depot, which has been a home since the 1950s.

"It is quite beautiful inside," she said. "They've taken real care of it. People have been living in it since the 1950s. All the original knotty-pine interior is still there."

Landscaping for the depot and the town will be paid for by a grant from Lyon County and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Plans are for the depot to become a museum, information and visitors bureau and home of the chamber of commerce. The kiosks will be in the restored depot and on its grounds. Displays will show the history of the area as seen in mining, ranching, logging, the Pony Express, the railroad, the culture of the Washoe and Paiute tribes, and the lives of the early settlers.

The depot used to sit at the big curve on Highway 50 as it enters Dayton from the west. It was moved to the corner of Main Street and Highway 50 when the new highway was built.

The depot is protected under the Comstock Historic District, but the site is held by a private landowner.