Genoa Nevada's First Settlement - 1851

    

     A number of factors led to the settlement of the West: the Louisiana Purchase which extended the US boundary westward in 1803, the Oregon Treaty of 1846 which removed Great Britain from Oregon, the Mexican War 1846-48 with the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo acquiring western lands for the US, the fur traders and mountain men who explored the West, the Mormon Migration of 1846-47, and the Gold Rush of 1849. 
     The first fur traders or mountain men entered the area of present-day Nevada in the 1820's.  Exploration by General John C.		  Fremont came in the 1840's. 
     The year 1841 marked the beginning of the great westward migration.  The lure of free land drew hundreds from the crowded East even before California and Oregon became US territory. 
     The Emigrant trail was not one trail but a number of trails.  One of these passed through the area to become Genoa. 
     Wagon trains along the Emigrant Trails led to establishment of way stations, many of which grew into settlements.

 
  Settlement  

The establishment of a permanent trading post in 1851 by a group of 17 Mormons with 13 wagons of supplies led to the settlement of the town. 
     The post was first known as Reese's Station and later as Mormon Station.  By 1852 land claims were filed, and settlement was in progress.		      It was renamed Genoa in 1855. 
     With the organization of Nevada Territory in 1861 and of statehood in 1864, Genoa was established as the county seat of Douglas County. 
     A fine brick courthouse was built in 1865, and Genoa remained the county seat until 1916.

 
 
  The Pony Express Route - 1860-1861     

     One of the most exciting chapters in the history of the West, although one of the shortest, is the story of the Pony Express. 
     Said to have originated on a bet, the young, small, strong riders raced across nevada, nearly one-fourth of the 2,000 mile distance from Missouri to California.  The 28 stations in Nevada varied from		  the elegance of Friday's Station at Lake Tahoe to the rawness of the average remount station. 
     The Pony Express died with completion of the intercontinental telegraph lines.

 This material is copyrighted by author Nancy C. Miluck, and may also be found in THE GENOA-CARSON VALLEY BOOK, 1991-1992 ISSUE, MAY 1991 702-782-4235


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