Valmy
Humboldt County, Humboldt County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Valmy. Overlooking the old California Emigrant Trail, Valmy was named after the Battle of Valmy, fought during the French Revolution in 1792. Established in 1910 by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, Valmy served during the steam era as a water and fuel stop for the railroad.Treaty Hill to the northwest marks a division point between the Northern Paiute lands to the west and Shoshone lands to the east. For generations the scene of battles over two springs. Treaty Hill marks the site where peace was wrought by compromise, when Native Americans peacefully divided springs and territory between the warring tribes.The first post office here was established as Stonehouse on November 26, 1890. The name was changed to Valmy March 24, 1915.
Erected by Eugene & Julie Oigrazia
The Story
Established by the Southern Pacific in 1910 and named for the 1792 Battle of Valmy of the French Revolution, this railroad point served the steam era as a water and fuel stop above the old California Emigrant Trail. Nearby Treaty Hill carries an older story: it marked the boundary between Northern Paiute lands to the west and Shoshone lands to the east, and the place where, after generations of conflict over two springs, the tribes made peace by dividing the water and territory. The local post office, first called Stonehouse in 1890, took the name Valmy in 1915.
Why it matters
Valmy binds together the railroad's reshaping of the desert and a Native peacemaking that settled long rivalry over scarce water—two very different ways the land was claimed and shared.
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Related events
- · Battle of Valmy
Themes & tags
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