Dewey
(Hepley)

George W. Hepperly (sometimes spelled Hepley) & Theodore Winters, business partners from Forest City, California, relocated to Washoe Valley in 1857. Sometime before 1871, Hepperly settled in Winnemucca Valley along the Reno-Fort Bidwell Road where he engaged in ranching until his death on October 7, 1879. Winters was appointed as the administrator of Hepperly's estate, and in late 1882 the ranch was sold to Robert S.H. Pitcher, who in late 1885 sold to Isaac Mathews.

Mathews took an active role in Winnemucca Valley, serving both as road supervisor and registry agent before opening a post office under the name 'Hepley' (spelled 'Heply' in the Nevada Post Offices book) in 1891 - though it lasted only six months. By mid-1898, Mathews secured another post office with the endorsement of Congressman Francis Newlands; the new office was called 'Dewey' after Admiral George Dewey, a prominent figure in the Spanish-American War that was going on at the time. Mathews remained at Dewey until 1900, when he sold to Gould & West and moved to Reno; his post office lasted until 1908.

In more recent years, the old Hepperly place has been known as the Marshall Ranch. Plans in 2007 called for the area to be inundated with 14,000 homes, but this never came to fruition. An old ranch house on the property (built 1930 according to Washoe County records, but possibly older) is undergoing restoration as of 2025.

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