Pahranagat Valley became widely known after Dan deQuille of the Territorial Enterprise wrote the 1862 hoax article “The Rolling Stones of Pahranagat” about magnetic currents. Its lakes and irrigated fields are sustained by the Hiko, Crystal, and Ash springs, and the Crystal Springs area served as a watering spot, campsite, and principal stopover on an alternate Mormon Trail route. In the late 1850’s, outlaws used the area as a haven and pastured hundreds of stolen cattle on its meadows. Although it was named provisional county seat in 1866, no significant town was built there. Ore discovered on Mount Irish in 1865 briefly gave rise to Logan City, and a stamp mill established at Hiko in 1866 to crush the ore made Hiko the valley’s center of activity when it became county seat in 1867. Hiko remained the largest community in Lincoln County until local mining declined and Pioche took the county seat in 1871. Alamo, established in 1900, is the valley’s largest present-day settlement, and the area now includes several ranches and the Pahranagat Valley National Wildlife Refuge.