BATTLE MOUNTAIN - Early in January 1870, the Central Pacific Railroad Company finalized its plat map for the new town that would surround its newest railroad station. Named after the bustling mining district a few miles to the south, the Battle Mountain depot had been constructed in 1869 on a spot chosen by Robert McBeth, one of Battle Mountain Mining District's most influential developers.
That map would show the exact date it was finalized and the intended name of the town, but a copy has not been located. (If you have a town map with an 1869 or 1870 date on it, please call the Museum!) Regional newspaper articles and original settlers' memories are the best sources for information about Battle Mountain's beginnings.
According to one newspaper, the railroad company finished the map between Jan. 1 and 8, 1870, although the depot had been built some months earlier. In 1869, with Austin's mines slowing and the Battle Mountain Mining District booming, the Central Pacific Railroad Company determined that its Argenta station was not ideally located. One of the earliest residents later explained that McBeth "nailed a shingle to a telegraph pole" next to the tracks (near the intersection of Broad and Front Streets) to mark the location for the new station, and the railroad began moving its operations from Argenta about 20 miles to the east. Families from the short-lived town of Argenta, including the Huntsmans, Laytons, and Altenburgs, soon followed.
The railroad intended that the name would also follow. Its station would be known as "Battle Mountain," but the town would be "Argenta." Supporters of "Argenta" argued that it would avoid confusion with the Humboldt County camp and township named "Battle Mountain" in the mining district. The Lander County Commission agreed and simply extended the boundaries of the Argenta Township created in December 1868.
Others argued that it was more important that the new town and station share the same name, which they soon did. By 1873, when the Legislature, including then-State Senator McBeth, moved the Battle Mountain Mining District from Humboldt to Lander County, any potential for confusion was gone, and the name "Battle Mountain" was firmly attached to the town by the tracks.
On Feb. 9, 1870, Lorenzo and Nancy Huntsman welcomed a new daughter, likely the first baby born in the new town. Battle Mountain's future looked as bright as the railroad steel running next to McBeth's telegraph pole.
The Battle Mountain Cookhouse Museum commissioned Dana Bennett to write a history of Battle Mountain, which will be published later this year. In the meantime, if you have a question about the town's history that might be answered in this monthly column, please contact the Museum at 775.635.8548 or 2012CookhouseMuseum@gmail.com.[[In-content Ad]]
