Discover the History of Carlin

Welcome to the Carlin Historical Society's Historical Walking Tour.

Let's start the Tour! The first historic street post is just a few steps away on the corner of 8th and Cedar. Just look to the east and you won't miss it!

Before Carlin became a town, the area was primarily traversed by fur trappers and expeditions seeking the fastest trail to the West. Men like Peter Skene Ogden (1828) and Joe Walker (1833) trekked through the valley along the Humboldt River, each on his own mission—Ogden in pursuit of fur, and Walker in search of a route to California for others to follow.

The high desert offers few water sources, so the river was vital to survival. Once a suitable route was established, emigrants headed west to California and Oregon. The first wagon train reached California in 1841. Maps from this time indicate several springs in the area, making the valley where Carlin would later be established a good place to stop. It is not known what, if any, name these travelers gave the area, nor what the Native Americans who came before them called it.

The route of the first transcontinental railroad was chosen in 1861 by President Abraham Lincoln after three options were considered. The northern and southern routes were discarded. The central route was surveyed by Captain John Gunnison. Gunnison was killed by Native Americans in Utah, and his lieutenant, E. G. Beckwith, took over. Beckwith’s survey would ultimately follow the exact route of the railroad tracks. The central route included the area that would become Carlin.

Due to abundant water sources—including the river, at least three creeks, and natural springs—Carlin was identified early as an ideal place for steam locomotives to stop and refill with water. Consequently, the town was chosen as the eastern terminus of the Humboldt Division of the newly constructed Central Pacific Railroad. A roundhouse, machine shop, water tank, and fuel supplies were quickly installed.

Early railroad towns were little more than camps. A description of Carlin in 1869 noted:

“The town is composed of wood and canvas buildings and contains about 600 inhabitants. It has several hotels and eating houses, chief of which is the Railroad House, before which the trains stop.”

However, the new community needed a name. The major investors and owners of the railroad oversaw its construction, including Charles Crocker. It is said that Crocker and others used a variety of methods to name the new communities created along the railroad. In Carlin’s case, Crocker allegedly admired men who graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served in the Civil War.

Brigadier General William Passmore Carlin was born in Illinois in 1829. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1846. In 1858, First Lieutenant Carlin traveled west to Utah, and later that year continued on to California. When the Civil War began in 1861, Carlin returned east, where he was promoted to captain and soon after to colonel. By the end of the war in 1865, he had reached the rank of brigadier general. He died in 1893.

The rest of this walking tour will guide you through various neighborhoods in Carlin, each highlighting a unique aspect or event from the town’s past. Enjoy!