Wilson Canyon
Lyon County, Lyon County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Wilson Canyon. Wilson Canyon and the Wilson Mining District were named for brothers David and “Uncle Billy” Wilson. David Wilson (born 1829) came west in 1850 during the California Gold Rush. He returned to the Midwest in 1853, married, and joined the Union Army at the outbreak of the Civil War. Wilson participated in at least one battle and was discharged with sunstroke. He then returned to the West.The Wilson family settled in the Wilson Canyon area in 1863 mining gold discovered in Pine Grove by "Uncle Billy" and ranching in Mason Valley. The Wilsons’ mining efforts eventually yielded several million dollars.David Wilson died in 1915, a prominent local rancher and community leader. He is buried nearby in the Wilson Ranch Cemetery.A Northern Paiute named Wovoka was raised with the Wilson boys and took the name Jack Wilson. Wovoka started the Ghost Dance movement in 1890, which swept into the Great Plains with potent political force.
Erected by Katie Buchanan And Family
The Story
Wilson Canyon and its mining district took their name from brothers David and "Uncle Billy" Wilson, who settled here in 1863 to work gold at Pine Grove and ranch in Mason Valley, eventually earning several million dollars. David, a California gold-rush veteran and Union Army soldier, became a prominent rancher before his death in 1915. Raised alongside the Wilson boys was a young Northern Paiute named Wovoka—who took the name Jack Wilson and in 1890 founded the Ghost Dance movement that swept the Great Plains with powerful spiritual and political force.
Why it matters
It ties a local mining-and-ranching family to Wovoka, whose Ghost Dance became one of the most consequential Native American religious movements in U.S. history.
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Related people
- · David Wilson
- · "Uncle Billy" Wilson
- · Wovoka (Jack Wilson)
Related events
- · Ghost Dance movement
Themes & tags
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