Crystal Springs
Lincoln County, Lincoln County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Crystal Springs. Crystal Spring was used as a watering place and campsite on an alternate route of the Mormon Trail in the mid-nineteenth century. The town site was designated as the provisional County Seat for Lincoln County in 1866. With the intention of organizing the new county, Governor Henry G. Blasdel left Carson City in April 1866, accompanied by over 20 people. After a perilous journey through Death Valley, California, they ran out of supplies and food. One man died; the others survived on lizards and other desert animals. The Governor and another man raced to Logan City to obtain supplies and returned lathe party so they reached Crystal Spring. The Governor found that the region lacked the number of voters necessary to meet the requirements to become a county. A year later the county government was organized at Hiko.
Erected by Nevada State Historic Preservation Office
The Story
Crystal Spring served as a watering place and campsite on an alternate branch of the Mormon Trail in the mid-1800s, and in 1866 it was named provisional seat of the new Lincoln County. That spring Governor Henry G. Blasdel set out from Carson City with more than twenty people to organize the county, but a harrowing crossing through Death Valley left them starving — one man died and the rest survived on lizards and desert animals before reaching the spring. Blasdel found too few voters to qualify the county, which was finally organized a year later at Hiko.
Why it matters
The ordeal at Crystal Springs captures the sheer physical difficulty of imposing government and order on Nevada's vast, thinly settled desert during Reconstruction.
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Related people
- · Henry G. Blasdel
Related events
- · Mormon Trail
Themes & tags
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