Nevada State Route 342 is an approximately 3.780-mile State Highway located in the Virginia City area. Nevada State Route 342 forms a loop of Nevada State Route 341 and the Occidental Grade. Nevada State Route 342 contains gradients approaching 15% and passes through the formation known as Devil's Gate.
Nevada State Route 342 is a portion of the larger historic Dayton Toll Road. The Dayton Toll Road was constructed north of Dayton to Virginia City via Devil's Gate shortly after the Comstock Lode was struck in 1859. The communities of Gold Hill and Silver City are both components of the Dayton Toll Road corridor.
The segment of the Dayton Toll Road north of the bottom of the Occidental Grade to Virginia City was added to the State Highway System as part of Nevada State Route 17 during the 1925-1926 biennial period. The upper part of the Dayton Toll Road would be removed from the State Highway System when Nevada State Route 17 was realigned onto the Occidental Grade in 1936. Despite the upper segment being relinquished the lower portion of the Dayton Toll Road south of the Occidental Grade to Dayton was added the same year as Nevada State Route 51.
The upper portion of the Dayton Toll Road would be added back to the State Highway System as Nevada State Route 80 during World War II. In 1964 the lower portion would be renumbered as Nevada State Route 93 to accommodate the second iteration of Nevada State Route 51 acting as a continuation of Idaho State Route 51. The lower portion of the Dayton Toll Road was dropped as part of the 1976 State Highway Renumbering whereas the upper portion was assigned as Nevada State Route 342.
Part 1; the history of Nevada State Route 342
Historically what is now Nevada State Route 342 was a component of the Dayton Toll Road. Said toll road connected Dayton to Virginia City via Silver City, Devil's Gate and Gold Hill. The corridor is known for being the most direct route to Virginia City which is carried by gradients approaching 15%.
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.
Peter O'Riley and Patrick McLaughlin are generally credited with the discovery of the Comstock Lode. The silver deposit was ultimately named after Canadian miner Henry Comstock. Henry Comstock was an early investor in the mines around Virginia City but sold his interests before generating much profit.
The rise of Virginia City was rapid as it grew numerous miners from exhausted placer claims in California. The community had a population of approximately 3,000 in 1862 which quickly rose to around 15,000 by 1863. Virginia City has been the Storey County seat since it was created in 1861. Storey County is named after Captain Farris Storey who had been killed in the 1860 Pyramid Lake War.
Gold Hill is a small community located on the Storey County side of the Dayton Toll Road corridor and was established in 1859. The community functionally was a suburb of Virginia City which was located near several major mines. Gold Hill reportedly had a population of 8,000 residents by 1877.
Silver City is located in Lyon County just south of Devil's Gate. The Devil's Gate Mining District was established during November 1859. By January 1860 over 100 mining claims in the district had been filed which led to the establishment of the community of Silver City. Silver City was never quite as prosperous as the Comstock Lode towns in Storey County and only reached a peak population of approximately 1,200.
The Dayton Toll Road can be seen passing through Silver City below in an 1860 photo (attribution unknown).
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.
The Dayton Toll Road can be seen below circa 1865 at Devil's Gate (photo attribution unknown). Devil's Gate marks the location of the Storey County/Lyon County line.
The Dayton Toll Road can be seen passing through Devil's Gate during 1866 towards Gold Hill (Library of Congress photos).
The Dayton Toll Road can be seen below in 1870 facing south from Devil's Gate towards Silver City (Nevada Ghost Towns and Historic Sites photo).
By the mid-1870s Virginia City reached a population of around 25,000. On October 26, 1875, Virginia City would be engulfed by the so-called "Great Fire." The Great Fire left 2,000 homeless and is generally considered to be the start of the decline for the Comstock Lode communities. In 1878 rich gold ore deposits around Bodie, California would draw many of the miners from Storey County. The population of Storey County dropped from 16,115 in 1880 to 8,806 by 1890.
The Dayton Toll Road corridor can be seen in contrast to the Occidental Grade and Virginia & Truckee Railroad on the 1891 United States Geological Survey map of Carson Valley.
Below the Dayton Toll Road can be seen passing through a nearly abandoned Gold Hill in 1915 (University of Southern California Libraries).
The Nevada Department of Highways was created was created on March 23, 1917. Storey County was initially excluded from the initial run of State Highways (1919-1920 Nevada Department of Highways Biennial).
The 1921-1922 Nevada Department of Highways Biennial listed legislative recommendations to State Highway System. The list included adding a State Highway north of the Dayton-Carson Road (the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway) to Virginia City.
The 1925-1926 Nevada Department of Highway Biennial announced Nevada State Route 17 as a new highway serving Virginia City. The then new state highway corridor originated as Nevada State Route 3 near Reno and followed the Geiger Grade to Virginia City. From Virginia City the corridor of Nevada State Route 17 followed the old Dayton Toll Road through Gold Hill, Devil's Gate and Silver City before branching away towards Mound House at the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway (Nevada State Route 2A).
The 1927-1928 Nevada Department of Highways Biennial reported that Nevada State Route 17 in Gold Hill (C Street) had been improved in a cooperative between the state and Storey County.
The 1934-1936 Nevada Department of Highways Biennial reported that survey work had been conducted to realign Nevada State Route 17 south of Virginia City through the Occidental Mining District. The preliminary survey did not find a new highway location which would not disrupt active mining in the area.
The same volume reported that the Nevada State Route 17 was relocated off the upper part of the Dayton Toll Road onto the Occidental Grade in 1936. The alignment shift was part of larger overall highway improvements to roads reaching Virginia City. The Geiger Grade was also heavily modified to permit modernized highway travel.
In 1936 the portion of the Dayton Toll Road below the Occidental Grade was commissioned as Nevada State Route 51 which terminated at US Route 50 in Dayton. The full Dayton Toll Road corridor can be seen on the 1937 Nevada Department of Highways map of Storey County and Lyon County.
The upper part of the Dayton Toll Road was commissioned as Nevada State Route 80 at some point between 1942-1943 during World War II. Nevada State Route 80 can be seen on the 1944 State Farm map of Nevada.
Nevada State Route 80 can be seen in detail on the Nevada Department of Highways maps of Storey County (1950 edition) and Lyon County (1953 edition).
In 1964 portions of Nevada States Routes 11, 11A and 43 were renumbered as the second iteration of Nevada State Route 51. This renumbering was done to provide continuity with Idaho State Route 51 from the Nevada state line near Owyhee south to Elko. The original Nevada State Route 51 on the lower portion of the Dayton Toll Road was renumbered as Nevada State Route 93. Nevada State Route 93 can be seen in detail on the 1965-1966 Nevada Department of Transportation map.
In 1976 the Nevada State Highway Renumbering took place. The State Highway system was reorganized into numbers centric to geographic areas. Additionally numerous minor State Highways were dropped. The upper portion of the Dayton Toll Road through Silver City, Devil's Gate and Gold Hill was renumbered from Nevada State Route 80 to Route 342. The lower portion of the Dayton Toll Road between the Occidental Grade and Dayton which was Nevada State Route 93 was dropped from the State Highway System.
Modern Nevada State Route 342 first appears on the 1977-1978 Nevada Department of Highways map.
Part 2; a drive on Nevada State Route 342
Northbound Nevada State Route 342 splits from Nevada State Route 341 near Silver City. Traffic is advised of the steep grades approaching 15% on Nevada State Route 342. The lower portion of the Dayton Toll Road can be found a short distance east of the Nevada State Route 341/342 junction.
Nevada State Route 342 passes through Silver City and enters Storey County at Devil's Gate.
Nevada State Route 342 enters Gold Hill and crosses over the Virginia & Truckee Railroad. The last freight train to make the climb from Mound House to Virginia City had run in 1938 and the line went defunct by 1950. In 1972 Virginia City railroad enthusiast purchased the Virginia & Truckee Railroad right-of-way. The railroad has been since rebuilt as a heritage line between Carson City and Virginia City.
Nevada State Route 342 climbs through two switchbacks and enters Virginia City along C Street. Nevada State Route 342 terminates at Nevada State Route 341 atop the Occidental Grade.
Nevada State Route 341 is carried through downtown Virginia City along C Street. As the highway departs downtown towards Geiger Grade it intersects Six Mile Canyon Road which was once Nevada State Route 79.
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