Wabuska
Wabuska, apparently named for the Washo word for 'white grass,' was established in the early 1870s as a freight station and small hamlet. In 1881, the Carson & Colorado Railroad was built through Mason Valley. Wabuska became a prominent station on the new line, and a general store and hotel were built.
In 1900, the Carson & Colorado was acquired by the Southern Pacific Railroad, and Wabuska boomed as a shipping and junction point for mining towns in the region. In 1911, the Nevada Copper Belt Railroad was completed through Wabuska to connect the copper mines west of Yerington to the Southern Pacific and the smelter at Thompson. Wabuska soon had a school, stores, saloons, and a new railroad depot, as well as nearly 60 families.
In the 1920s, copper developments waned and Wabuska's prosperity declined. Today, the shuttered bar and grocery store (supposedly dating to 1881) remains as well as a few other ruins. Wabuska's railroad depot was moved to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City in the 1980s.
