Presently the second shortest state highway in Nevada is Nevada State Route 822 in the community of Dayton. Nevada State Route 822 begins at US Route 50 and follows Dayton Valley Road eastward over the Carson River 0.146 miles to Ricci Road.
The signature component of Nevada State Route 822 is the Carson River Bridge. Said bridge was constructed by Lyon County in 1956 and was annexed into the State Highway System as Nevada State 822 in 1976 (the same year State Highway Renumbering). The Carson River Bridge was rebuilt by the Nevada Department of Transportation in 1991 and presently carries 16,000 vehicles a day.
Part 1; the history of Nevada State Route 822
Dayton is the second oldest settlement in Nevada after Genoa. In 1849 Abner Blackburn would locate a gold nugget near the California Trail along what is now Gold Creek. In 1850 the community of Gold Cañon (alternatively Gold Cañon Flat) was established by placer miners. By 1857 a large number of Chinese miners would relocate to Gold Cañon to avoid taxation they faced at the mines of California.
Gold Cañon would become a transportation hub following the discovery of the Comstock Lode in Virginia Mountains circa 1859. A franchise toll road was constructed from Gold Cañon northwest through Devil's Gate via Silver City and Gold Hill to Virginia City. In 1861 Gold Cañon would be renamed as "Dayton" in honor surveyor John Day.
Dayton would become the original Lyon County seat in November 1861. By 1864 the Lyon County Courthouse was completed and was one of the first in Nevada. The community grew from a population of 78 in 1860 to over 2,500 by 1865. Nevada obtained Statehood during October of 1864 largely off the prospects of the mining booms associated with the Comstock Lode.
Dayton can be seen as both "Golden" and "Tayton" on the 1863 DeGroot's map of Nevada Territory. Dayton can be seen along the California Trail which linked it with Carson City and the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road to the west. The Dayton Toll Road and Six Mile Canyon Road can be seen linking Dayton to Virginia City in Storey County.
Dayton would be bypassed by the Virginia & Truckee Railroad in 1869 which reduced the profile of the community to a degree. Additionally large fires in 1866 and 1870 would reduce the size of the community further. Prosperity as a transportation hub would resume in 1881 when the narrow-gauge Carson & Colorado Railway constructed a depot in Dayon. The Carson & Colorado Railway terminus was located a short distance west of Dayton at Mound House.
Dayton can be seen along the Carson & Colorado Railway on the 1882 Bancroft's map of California and Nevada.
In 1909 the Lyon County Courthouse in Dayton would burn. The county seat would relocate to Yerington by 1911.
During 1912 Indiana Businessman Carl G. Fisher conceptualized the Lincoln Highway as a major transcontinental Auto Trail. The Lincoln Highway was formally dedicated on October 31, 1913 and would cross the Sierra Nevada range via North/South branches. The southern branch was named the "Pioneer Branch" and split from the northern branch near Fallon. The Pioneer Branch passed through Dayton using the following routing:
- What is now Old US Route 50
- Pike Street
- Main Street
- Daney Street
- An unnamed road west of Dayton through Daney Canyon
Dayton and the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway would eventually be assigned to the corridor of Nevada State Route 2A. Nevada State Route 2A originated at Leetville near Fallon and extended westward to Carson City. The definition of Nevada State Route 2A can be seen in the 1921-1922 Third Biennial Report by the Nevada Department of Highways.
The initial draft of the US Route System was approved by the Secretary of Agriculture during November of 1925. Originally US Route 50 was not slated to replace the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway but rather terminate at US Route 40 at Wadsworth, Nevada.
US Route 50 is shown to have a planned terminus at US Route 40 near Wadsworth, Nevada on the 1925 Rand McNally Junior Map of California.
US Route 50 can be seen terminating US Route 40 in Wadsworth, Nevada on an October 1925 report to by the Bureau of Public Roads which lists the recommended US Routes.
The US Route System was finalized by November 1926 and included US Route 50 being extended to a new terminus at US Route 99 in Sacramento via the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway over Johnson's Pass. This decision to extend US Route 50 into California brought it through Dayton over the existing alignment of the Pioneer Branch. Early US Route 50 over the Sierra Nevada and in Dayton can be seen on the 1927 National Map Company Highway Map of California.
The December 1930-June 1932 Eight Nevada Department of Highways biennial reported US Route 50 had been realigned approximately 2 miles east of Mound House towards Dayton. This realignment bypassed the former alignment through Daney Canyon.
The 1938-1940 Nevada Department of Highways Biennial listed US Route 50 east of Carson City to Leetville via Dayton as Federal Aid Route 4 for the state. This designation would see US Route 50 moved onto a bypass of downtown Dayton over the following years. The Biennial reports to not clearly specify when Federal Aid Route 4 was completed during the 1940s.
The 1951-1952 Eighteenth Biennial of the Nevada Department of Highways reported on the destruction of the Carson River Bridge in Dayton following large floods during November 1950. The Biennial reported that bridges over Carson River in Dayton had previously been washed away in 1907 and 1937. A high-level replacement span over the Carson River had been dedicated on July 7, 1951. The 1951-era span was constructed with Nevada Department of Highways assistance but was owned by Lyon County.
The 1955-1956 Nevada Department of Highways Biennial reported flooding on the Carson River during December 1955 had destroyed the 1951-era span in Dayton. The span was replaced again by the Nevada Department of Highways at a cost of $250,000. The flooding at caused damage to a culvert approximately 5 miles to the east of Dayton on US Route 50.
The 1956 United States Geological Survey map of Dayton displays the modern alignment of US Route 50 and the Carson River Bridge.
The Carson & Colorado Railway would come under Southern Pacific Railroad ownership in 1900. The Southern Pacific ended common-carrier service along the narrow-gauge line in Dayton by April 1960. Much of the overall railroad line had been removed by early 1961.
During July 1976 the Nevada State Highway System was renumbered. In addition to the renumbering many new highway corridors were added to the State Highway System. The 1956-era Carson River Bridge was added to the State Highway System as Nevada State Route 822. Nevada State Route 822 was designated as originating at US Route 50 in Dayton and following Dayton Valley Road over the Carson River 0.146 miles east to Ricci Road.
When Nevada State Route 822 was designated in 1976 it was the fourth shortest Nevada State Highway behind Routes 781, 646 and 686. Nevada State Route 686 was deleted from the State Highway System during 2006 which was followed by Nevada State Route 646 in 2010. Presently Nevada State Route 822 is the second shortest State Highway only behind Nevada State Route 781 (the Palisade Bridge near Carlin).
Part 2; a drive on Nevada State Route 822
Nevada State Route 822 branches east of US Route 50 in Dayton at Dayton Valley Road. Numerous historical plaques regarding the history of Dayton can be found at the eastbound beginning of Nevada State Route 822. Despite being a short highway Nevada State Route 822 is fully signed on route.
Eastbound Nevada State Route 822 crosses the 1956-era Carson River Bridge and terminates at Ricci Road. Despite only being 0.146 miles in length, Nevada State Route 822 carries 16,000 vehicles a day. The 1956-era Carson River Bridge was rehabilitated by the Nevada of Department of Transportation in 1991.
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