If you enjoyed your virtual tour of Historic Downtown Wells, and you get a chance to visit Wells in person please remember to stop by the Wells Chamber of Commerce at 395 6th Street or any local merchant. They'll be happy to help you learn more about our home town.

Wells - The short story of a long history

Lush meadows and deep clear springs made this place a natural rest stop for the first western tourists... the emigrants on their way to the land of golden dreams in California. From the late 1840's to the early 1870's, it rivaled any resting place on the California Trail. The pioneers called it Humboldt Wells, the jumping off place for the toughest leg of a long journey, crossing the deadly arid desert to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, gateway to California.

For almost thirty years Humboldt Wells remained just a wide spot on the trail with no permanent buildings. The future townsite of Wells was a part of Utah Territory until 1866, two years after Nevada became a state. A strip of land, beginning just west of the present community and continuing east to Wendover, was taken by Congress from the neighboring territory and given to the Silver State.

In 1869, the Central Pacific Railroad laid its ties and steel to the site in its race to meet the Union Pacific in Utah Territory. When the rails met at Promontory on May 30th, the nation was finally joined together and travel time was reduced from three or more months to about ten days.

When the railroad reached Humboldt Wells, the company built a water tower and installed a boxcar next to the tracks for use as a freight and passenger depot. The original station was about a mile west of the present townsite. Wells soon became a freight division point and helper station. Extra engines were added to trains for the difficult pull east over the Pequop Mountains. Humboldt Wells began to grow and the townsite shifted east to accomodate its growth pains. On Christmas Eve, 1869, the town celebrated its first building, a log hut housing the Bulls Head Saloon. Following the establishment of that essential western institution, a livery stable, telegraph office, general store and another saloon were constructed.

The local economy flourished with steady trade from the miners who worked south of town at Spruce Mountain, Dolly Varden and Cherry Creek. More business came from the ranches in Starr, Ruby and Clover Valleys, as well as the cattle outfits north of the community and, of course the railroad and wagon traffic.

Grain, vegetables and feed were brought to the local stores from the valleys and traded for goods or shipped to Elko and other communities along the railroad.

By 1873, the town had grown into a complete community. There was even a school where the ringing of a locomotive bell called the students to class. In that same year, Elko County Commissioners officially shortened the name to Wells. The town prospered through the 1870's with a population around three hundred. A mining decline in the 1880's hurt the community and its population slowly dwindled. Railroad business and ranch trade wall all that kept the town alive.

Southwest of Wells, a revival of mining at Cherry Creek in the 1890's and a new boom in the Ely area brought an economic spark of life to Wells when those places freighted ore to the railroad here.

Bad luck struck in the 1890's when Wells lost its status as a freight division point, but it remained an important helper engine station on the railroad that was, by then, the Southern Pacific.

Another blow to the local economy hit in 1906 when the Nevada Northern Railroad was constructed from the copper town of Ely to Cobre northeast of Wells. The ore shipping business in Wells dropped to almost nothing and local business had to rely solely on the ranching outfits and depleted railroad trade. In 1908, the new Western Pacific Railroad laid its tracks through town and took up some of the economic slack.

In 1926, the Union Pacific completed its Oregon Short Line from Twin Falls, Idaho to Wells. When the first train arrived from the North, 1500 people gathered to welcome it and hail what they thought was a permanent solution to local economic downturns. There was much to celebrate that day. Food and drinks were free, but most importantly, Wells High School soundly trounced its basketball rival from nearby Metropolis for the first time in three long years.

In 1927, the town incorporated and became the City of Wells. That same year, the community became part of the first rural electrification system in Nevada when Harry H. Cazier built power lines from a small hydroelectric plant on Trout Creek to Wells and Deeth.

After World War II, tourism began a serious rise as more and more people bought automobiles and traveled. Many stayed overnight in Wells. Nearby Angel Lake in the East Humboldt Mountains was made accessible by grading a road to the beautiful alpine lake. The road was paved in 1968.

Increased use of diesel locomotives eliminated the need for helper engines and Wells lost its status as a helper station in the 1940's. In the early 1970's, Union Pacific stopped operations on the Oregon Short Line. Wells felt the loss but not as badly as in previous years when other railroad operation shut down.

Wells continues to be an important transportation point. Two major highways intersect at Wells: Interstate 80 and US Highway 93, the Great Basin Highway.

Since the founding of Wells in 1869, its population growth or loss has always been steady and slow. It has never been a boomtown, nor has it died the quick death of a mining camp. The place has clung tenaciously to life through good times and bad.

No one can predict what these unusual times will do to any community, but it's a sure bet that the citizens of Wells will play the hands they are dealt and do the best they can with the cards, good or bad. Like their pioneer parents before, they are a tough breed with a vision of the future in a place that has always welcomed travelers.



You might also be interested in other sites and activities that surround our community. Vist our Attractions page for more information.