LONG VALLEY HISTORY & LEGENDS
Yesteryear, a significant part of American history unfolded along the routes and ruts of the California, Pony Express, Mormon Pioneer, and Oregon Trails. On August 9, 1846, a group of as many as 100 wagons set out from Fort Hall, Idaho, to Humboldt, Nevada, to join the new Lassen-Applegate Trail. That September the first of the wagons left the Humboldt River and headed across the Black Rock Desert, a treacherous section of trail in Northwest Nevada filled with Indian attacks, overpowering heat, and very little forage for the animals.
From there the wagons rolled through Long Valley, NV (Vya). A trail marker approximately two miles south of our property marks the historic 1849 crossing into Surprise Valley (Cedarville, CA). They then traveled northwest to Goose Lake and Tule Lake. The historic freight wagon path, known as the Applegate Emigrant Trail, crosses over the Fortynine Mountain, west of the TD Ranch. The party crossed the Lost River on a natural stone bridge. The bridge and a sign which mark the crossing are near Merrill, Oregon. The wagons then swung southwest around lower Klamath Lake and toward their final destination of Dallas, Oregon.
From there the wagons rolled through Long Valley, NV (Vya). A trail marker approximately two miles south of our property marks the historic 1849 crossing into Surprise Valley (Cedarville, CA). They then traveled northwest to Goose Lake and Tule Lake. The historic freight wagon path, known as the Applegate Emigrant Trail, crosses over the Fortynine Mountain, west of the TD Ranch. The party crossed the Lost River on a natural stone bridge. The bridge and a sign which mark the crossing are near Merrill, Oregon. The wagons then swung southwest around lower Klamath Lake and toward their final destination of Dallas, Oregon.
Indian Massacres |
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There are three alleged Indian/Settler massacre sites on the Lassen-Applegate Trail, but no reliable documentation exists to substantiate the events. Looking east from the ranch house, you will observe a rather large mound off in the distance which the locals refer to as Paint Point or Massacre Mound. The site is where the last massacre occurrence is believed to have taken place in the U.S. in the early 1900's.
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"The Washoe County maintenance station did not exist when I was there but from your description, I imagine it occupies the site I knew as New Vya. It was the Herrin ranch, and Lawrence Herrin was Road Boss of Washoe County roads at the time (1928). Someone told me that he sold out to Buzz Miller. I am satisfied that your property is the old Vya (Marriette place), the original trading post on the old emigrant trail." E.Maxine Edwards, former resident of Mosquito Valley, 1928-33. Click here to see more historic pictures of Vya.
Included in this history of the emigrants is the account of the 19th century Ol’ Yella Dog Saloon, a renowned watering hole rumored by locals to have been located here on the TD Ranch. The saloon would have refreshed weary travelers prior to their continuing west over wild, deplorable, and empty landscape to their final destinations in California or Oregon. The Ol’ Yella Dog Saloon remains a legend with its lore passed down from generation to generation. A poem about the legend of the Ol' Yella Dog Saloon was written by Vya resident Glenn Dyer and recounts part of its colorful history. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt conducted a bold and wildly successful experiment to curb Depression-era unemployment. The CCC was born and enrolled over three million young men at locations across the United States during its nine years in operation. Many men served at summer camp DG-7 in Swinford Springs, Vya, NV, in 1936 (80 years ago in 2016), which we’ve recently discovered was located on the TD Ranch. Remnants including building foundations, walkways, etc., from the CCC continue to be found on the ranch. Young men at work and play on the ranch during the CCC days show what is now the site of the ranch house and our barns in the background. A short history of the establishment of Swinford Springs DG-7 is on the CCC Written History page. To read more about the CCC work in Vya, click on the following link: https://livingnewdeal.org/projects/swinford-springs-ccc-camp-board-corral-nv-vya-nv/ |