Twelve Mile House was an important hostelry named for its distance from Genoa and from Cradlebaugh Bridge across the Carson River. It was built in 1860 by Thomas Wheeler where the Boyd Toll Road to Genoa and the Cradlebaugh Toll Road to Carson City converged. In the vicinity, a second station was built by James Teasdale. Twelve Mile House was an important stop on the road to the Esmeralda Mining Camp of Aurora, and buildings of the original station still stand here.