A fair question.Bottom line: The Pony Express ran well south of Ragtown in that area, but the Overland Stage carrying the Clemens brothers passed Sink Station, locally dubbed "Ragtown." Ragtown was on the Carson River at the end of the 40-mile desert, west of present-day Fallon. Many California emigrants left the northern, Humboldt, Trail at the Humboldt Sink, turning south down the 40-mile desert. Others left the California Trail in the area of the Big Meadows (Lovelock) for Oregon. The "Old Oregon Trail" did not pass through any part of Utah or Nevada.Until the floods of 1861-2 turned its course, the Carson River ran into Carson Lake, south of today's Fallon.The Pony Express trail, which did not always follow the Central Emigrant Road (Compared to the Humboldt River 'California' Trail) passed south of Carson Lake, far distant from Ragtown.An article in the Sacramento Daily Union of August 13, 1858, page 3, col. 2, specifically routes the Chorpenning Stage to Salt Lake City through Ragtown. In 1861 the Overland Stage moved north--Clemens brothers were on one of its first trips from St. Joseph. Another SDUnion article, Feb. 15, 1863 page 4 col 2, discusses a freight route to the 1862 mining camp of Austin and mentions Ragtown, but is not clear as to whether it is on the stage route or the new freighters' short cut. Dan DeQuille mentions the Stage stopping at Ragtown, and the single log cabin there, as mentioned by Twain. Alf Doten, (The Journals of...) mentions Ragtown as follows on Sept. 3, 1867 (Vol. 2, page 945) "I took the Overland Coach, for the Centerville house - on the road, a mile and a half this side of Ragtown - 40 miles from [Virginia City] - I went out to see..." The Ragtown cabin was washed away in the floods of January, 1862. Burton went through in 1860, on the Chorpenning line before the Overland mail moved north. But the 1858 news article above tends to say the Chorpenning Stage carrying Burton did pass by there. Burton writes, on page 492, that "...we were approaching civilized lands. 'Sink Station' looked well from without; there was a frame house inside an adobe inclosure ...."
I have driven down the old desert sink trail from Interstate 80 three times through the years. It is a dusty dirt road along which one often sees old water barrel straps, and leads to Ragtown. The name 'Sink Station' is fitting as a formal name for the common name 'Ragtown.' See the Daily Alta California for August 28, 1861, page 1, col. 3 for the list of Overland Stage stations, in order, going from west to east--sink station fits the location of the campsite where weary emigrants washed travel-weary, often worn and raglike, clothing and spread it on sagebrush to dry.
On Sunday, October 30, 2016 12:23 PM, Scott Holmes <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
This station/stop is the only divergence from the route taken by
Richard Burton, just the year before. Orion's journal makes no
reference to this stop, instead he mentions arriving at Carson Sink and
then into Carson City, as did Burton. Going to Ragtown from Carson
Sink Station makes no sense if the final destination was to be Carson
City. Did he, perhaps, mention this site because it was "colorful" and
was significant to the Oregon Trail settlers.
--
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of
in your philosophy.
http://bscottholmes.com
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