Stagecoaches jangled in Dayton

One must be awed by the thoughts of the stagecoaches' arrival on Dayton's dusty streets in the early days. Think about the egg-shaped coach and steaming horses clattering down Pike Street to the Union Hotel, which acted as a stop.

Imagine it: The Wells Fargo stagecoach arrived at Dayton in the winter of 1861-62, when the Comstock was its busiest, shipping gold and receiving goods from back East.

Henry Wells, founder of Wells Fargo, loved the Wild West. He and William G. Fargo and others incorporated Wells Fargo & Co. on March 18, 1852, in New York to operate a banking and express business out West. Today, Wells Fargo still boasts being "The Oldest Bank in the West."

Wrote Mark Twain: "The stage whirled along at a spanking gait." He enjoyed the ride: "The pattering of the horses' hoofs, cracking of the driver's whip and his 'hi-yi g'lang!"

The first territorial warrants are actually Wells Fargo's banks bearing the signature of Orion Clemens, Mark Twain's brother and Nevada Territory's first secretary of state.

It cost $300 to ride the Wells Fargo stage cross-country, and it took two weeks. The stage carried people, goods, mail and money West, going right through Old Town Dayton. It continued on to San Francisco with its rich loads of Comstock silver and gold that helped build that city and the West.

n The Dayton Museum is on Shady Lane and Logan in Old Town Dayton. It's also the location of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce office. It is open during the week at random hours and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Go to daytonnvhistory.org. Group tours are available. Call 246-5543 or 246-0441 for details.

n Ruby McFarland is a 17-year resident of Dayton, a board member of the Dayton Historical Society and a docent at the museum.