Abner Blackburn Descendants Celebrate Contribution to Nevada’s Development

Wow, it is hard to believe but on Oct. 17, the Historical Society of Dayton Valley (HSDV) welcomed 165 visitors from across the country to celebrate Blackburn family history in Old Town Dayton. It was exciting to watch three huge green buses parked in front of the Dayton Community Center on Pike Street, and to see the smiling guests jump outside about 2:30 p.m., knowing their time was limited as the buses were leaving for Reno at 4 p.m. sharp. Luckily, it was a beautiful fall day in Dayton.

The visitors were touring this part of Nevada to celebrate their family’s contributions to the West, including Dayton, Nevada’s earliest settlement, and to learn more about their famous ancestor, Abner Blackburn!

It was in March 1849 when Abner discovered Nevada’s first gold in a creek bed west of town (now known as Gold Canyon), which leads to Virginia City and the upper Comstock mines that had not yet been discovered. Abner's gold-seeking party arrived in the Dayton area and camped in a rugged canyon while waiting for the snow to melt in the Sierra Nevada.

In later years, Abner wrote a book about his voyages across America, onto Utah and then on his way to California, recording where he used a butcher knife to dig out Nevada’s first gold when a snowfall had stopped his party from crossing the Sierra Nevada. Soon, the word spread to other pioneers who were also on their way to California. Lured by the news that gold had been found, they stopped here to pan and the Nevada gold rush began!

“While the Comstock made Nevada famous, Abner Blackburn made it possible,” notes a Blackburn family history record. “By 1849, the land had no towns yet, only trails and promise. Blackburn’s find in Gold Canyon brought the first wave of miners to Western Nevada and gave birth to a settlement that would become Dayton, Years later, those same paths and people would uncover the Comstock Lode, changing the West forever.”

Fun in Today’s Old Town Dayton 

After a quick greeting from many HSDV members, including President Linda Clements, the visitors grabbed bottles of cold water and bought a few Dayton Arcadia-published books that contained Abner’s photo then headed to the Dayton Museum to see his historical display in a front entrance cabinet and to learn much more about Dayton’s history. 

Other family members toured Pike Street to see the new Chapel Museum that is just opening for tours, onto the 1875 firehouse and jail, then over to the 1861 Odeon Saloon and restaurant where visitors can pan for gold (special events only) at the replica gold panning site just above Gold Canyon Creek, which still flows into the Carson River – the same creek where Abner hit pay dirt in 1849! HSDV member Stony Tennant also offered to show interested guests where Abner discovered placer gold deposits in the creek along the original California Pioneer Trail.

In addition, Glenn and Katie Hasbrouck, proprietors and residents of the 1861 Union Hotel on Main Street, provided tours of the historic and beautifully restored building as well as the original Pony Express Station next door.

Thanks to the many HSDV members who helped plan this event, Katrina Hedlesky, David Schmidt, Larry Tuttle, Margie and Glenn Sidener.