First off, always check road conditions during the winter months in Nevada! If all looks good weather-wise, State Route 722 is a beautiful drive with great views of snow-covered peaks.
722 veers off of US Highway 50 near the roadhouse at Middlegate. It then crosses two summits: Eastgate at 5,110 feet, and Carroll Summit at 7,492 feet. It reunites with US Highway 50 just west of Austin. The highway is the old route of US Highway 50 and previously the Lincoln Highway. The US 50 designation was removed in favor of the new route that traverses the Desatoya Mountains via New Pass Summit, which is 1,100 feet lower with easier inclines on both sides.
For photos and a virtual tour of State Route 722, visit http://austinnevada.com/Highway-722-photography.html.
The old Gridley Store is still a famous landmark in Austin. Owner R.C. Gridley, upon losing an 1864 election bet, carried a 50-pound bag of flour up through town to the tune of "John Brown's Body." While post-race libations flowed in the local hotspots, the sack of flour made the rounds at auction. Auctioned many times, it raised $6,000 for the Sanitary Commission, the Civil War precursor of the Red Cross. Other towns challenged Austin and the sack of flour toured the country. Its repeated auctions raised $275,000 for the cause to help battlefield casualties. Traveling around the country ruined Gridley's health, and when he returned to Austin, he found the mine played out and his store close to bankruptcy. Two years later Gridley and his wife and four children were living in poverty in Stockton, CA. Upon learning of Gridley's plight, newspaper editors in California and Nevada raised $1,400 to buy him a house and small farm, but Gridley's health continued to decline. He died in 1870 at the age of 41.
Today, Gridley Store is marked by Nevada Historical Marker 119. For more information about the old Gridley Store, visit austinnevada.com. For photos of the store, go to visit the Gridley photo album on the Austin Flickr page.
To get a real taste of summertime in Nevada, take a trip to see Stokes Castle and the surrounding country—just like the Stokes family did over one-hundred years ago! This unique three-story stone tower is located just outside of town and offers a spectacular view.
Construction of the castle began in the fall of 1896 and the building was completed in June, 1897, by Anson Phelps Stokes, mine developer, railroad magnate and member of a prominent eastern family. It was built as a summer home for his sons, principally J.G. Phelps. After the castle (or the tower, as the Stokes family always referred to it) was completed, it was used by the family for one brief period in June and July, 1897. Since then, with one possible exception, the structure has remained unoccupied.
Stokes Castle is made of native granite, hewn and put in place by the ancestors of people that still live in Austin. The huge stones were raised with a hand-winch and held in position by rock wedging and clay mortar. The architectural model for the castle was a medieval tower Anson Stokes had seen and admired on an Italian campagna, near Rome. It originally had three floors, each with a fireplace, plate glass view windows, balconies on the second and third floors, and a battlemented terrace on the roof. It had plumbing very adequate for the times and was sumptuously furnished. The structure stands as an abiding monument to the local men who built it and to those who helped develop the mines of Austin.
Learn more about the history of Austin at austinnevada.com/history
St. George’s Episcopal Church is another beautiful and historic place to visit in Austin. In 1877, The Reverend Blackiston swept the congregation with his enthusiasm and eloquence at Easter Service to bring forth pledges including the building, retaining wall, pipe organ, bell and a twenty-dollar gold piece from every employee of a local mine. The organ was shipped around the Horn and by wagon from San Francisco. St. George’s was consecrated in 1878.
The intricate brickwork and impressive architecture are very impressive. Standing tall and surrounded by shade trees, this is a “must visit” for travelers of Highway 50. It’s also one of many buildings in Austin that are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Learn more about historical Austin at http://austinnevada.com/history.html
Now serving as a community center, the Methodist Church in Austin is another great example of this town’s rich history. Built in 1866, it’s one of Nevada’s oldest surviving Methodist churches, and Nevada’s first church built outside of the Comstock.
The brick edifice with Italianate bell tower was built during the pastorate of J. L. Trefren, who conceived an enterprising approach to construction financing. Trefren organized the New England & Nevada Silver Mining Company and sold stock based on the potential earnings of Austin’s silver claims. The church was built and a fine organ was purchased (possibly the first church organ in Nevada) before the scheme collapsed. Mechanical engineer Daniel P. Bell served as supervising architect for the building, which was apparently designed by a California architect, and Bell may have been responsible for the building’s innovative form. Lectures and entertainment were part of the church scene for benefit purposes. Emma Wixom attended Sunday school here. Later, as world-famous Emma Nevada, she brought her troupe to Austin and gave a benefit concert in this church.
Learn more about Austin’s history at austinnevada.com/history.html
