Walk through Dayton history in an afternoon

A chunk of Nevada history stands just a couple blocks from Highway 50 in Dayton.

Clustered along several streets in old Dayton is an assortment of buildings constructed before statehood. Some stood before the Pony Express boys rode through. Even the Comstock Lode was young when stone and wood and brick took shape into what became the town of Dayton.

The Dayton Historical Society is sharing the rich heritage of the buildings with "A Walking Tour of Dayton Nevada."

The new brochure, available at the museum, provides an easy-to-use guide to the historical buildings and the sites where other significant structures once stood.

Parking is easy to find, except during major community events. Stops along the way are within about a quarter of a square mile and have numbered markers along the road that match to numbers on the brochure's map.

First stop and No. 1 on the brochure is the Dayton Grammar School at the corner of Logan Alley and Shady Lane, where brochures can be picked up. Constructed in 1865 and used as a school until 1953, it's thought to be one of the oldest schoolhouses in Nevada still on its original site. It now houses the Dayton Museum and office of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce.

The tightest cluster of historic buildings is at Main and Pike streets, numbers 9 through 13, and 18 and 19.

One side of the block includes the End of the Trail Saloon built in the 1880s. Then there's a group of buildings constructed in the 1870s including the Union Hotel, Sazarac Bar and a butcher shop constructed by Chinese immigrants.

Across the street is the Braun/Loftus Store, with an ad for Levi Strauss painted on the wall that overlooks Pike Street.

Between the old grammar school and Main Street is the Odeon Hall. Built in 1862, it now houses Mia's Swiss Restaurant, No. 20. It was built by the Odd Fellows, which occupied the second floor. On the west side of the street was the Odeon Saloon and Billiard Parlor and a hardware store faced east. Ghosts still haunt the cellar, or so it is said.

Nearby on Cemetery Road, No. 5 marks the spot where Hall's Trading Post was constructed in the early 1850s. On New Year's Eve 1859, the first recorded dance in Nevada was held here. Nine women and 150 men attended the event.

Cemetery Road leads uphill to the old Dayton Cemetery, a side trip from the brochure, but worth the climb. Begun in 1851, it's one of the oldest continually maintained cemeteries in the state of Nevada. James Finney "Ole Virginie" - whose nickname gave Virginia City its name - is buried here, along with many of old Dayton's Italian families.

Besides this selection of sites, the brochure marks railroad sites and a railroad station. There's a firehouse and jail, a hay barn, shops that served mines and shops that met residents' needs. Nevada Historic Markers continue the stories of many of the buildings.

Be sure to walk around the blocks, as the back walls may be as interesting as the front facades.

For information on "A Walking Tour of Dayton," call historical society president Laura Tennant at 246-3256 or the membership chairwoman Judy Harris at 246-5783.

A walking tour of Dayton

1. Grammar school built in 1865, used until 1953. Now houses the Dayton Historical Society Museum and the Dayton Chamber of Commerce office.

2. Old carriage house and ruins.

3. Gold Cañon Creek. Gold was discovered in the mouth of the canyon in 1849.

4. Approximate location of Hall's Trading Post, built in early 1850s.

5. Pioneer House

6. Nevada's first cemetery

7. Narrow gauge Dayton, Sutro and Carson Valley railroad built to haul tailings to the Douglass and Rock Point mills.

8. Bluestone Manufacturing. Bluestone, or copper sulfide, was used in separating gold and silver ores from tailings. Has housed the Dayton Justice Court since 1993.

9. Site of Douglass Mill. Part of the foundation is still evident.

10. Rumored to be one of Mark Twain's haunts, the Eureka Saloon was built in the late 1880s at the corner of Main and Pike streets. Moved to its present site in 1900.

11. Group of buildings built in 1870s. Now a private residence.

12. The freestanding rock wall is the original wall of the Overland Stage Station & Pony Express stop. (The site of the first station is now a gravel pit.)

13. Union Hotel, also known as the Gruber Hotel, was the site of the second Pony Express remount station in Dayton. Now a private residence.

14. Sazarac Bar. Now a shop.

15. Butcher Shop built by the Chinese in 1870s. Now a shop.

16. Livery stable used in the 1870s. Now a saloon.

17. Chinatown grew up around this area. It is now a service station and fast-food restaurant.

18. Nevada's first Chinatown.

19. Carson & Colorado Railroad station master's house. Now a private residence.

20. Carson & Colorado Railroad Depot moved from across the highway. Now a private residence.

21. Site of Braun/Loftus Store. Now Old Corner Bar.

22. Site of Quilici Mercantile, which burned in the 1980s..

23. Odeon Hall, built in 1862, was one of the Nevada's oldest saloons and billiard parlors. The hall once hosted President Ulysses S. Grant.

24. Site of doctor's office and drugstore. Now a private residence.

25. Firehouse, jail and historic site of 1860s Wells Fargo Express.

26. A church moved here from Yerington in 1905.

27. A residence that is now vacant.

28. High school built out of ruins of the 1864 Lyon County Courthouse, which burned in 1909. The high school closed in 1959, when students were transferred to Carson City. Now the Dayton Valley Community Center.

29. The "Hurdy Gurdy House." Now a restaurant.

30. Methodist-Episcopal Church built in Gold Hill in 1876 and moved to this site in 1903. Used until 1950s.

31. Leslie hay barn and camel compound built in 1861.

32. Como Mining Co. office. Now a private residence.

33. Rock Point Mill site, the first quartz mill in Nevada. It is now Dayton State Park.

Contact Sally Taylor at staylor@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1210.