Welcome to Kyburz Flat

Kyburz Flat preserves evidence of several eras of human use in this valley. The Washoe lived here as early as 2,000 years ago, and some researchers believe local petroglyphs of small round pits ground into rock may have been made by people from that early period who may be ancestors of the Washoe; the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California regards such places as an important part of its heritage. In the 1850s, emigrants began traveling the Henness Pass Road, which linked Nevada City and Virginia City, and after the 1859 Comstock silver strike the road was improved to carry growing stage and freight traffic through the Sierra. During its 1860s peak, way stations such as More’s Station, a 320 acre ranch operated by Lysander More and his family, served travelers and freight, but traffic declined sharply after the Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869. Later, the valley and surrounding hills were used heavily for grazing and lumbering, and in the early 1900s Basques from Spain came to tend sheep; Wheeler Sheep Camp became one of the main camps of the Wheeler Sheep Company, with structures built before 1921 by John Martin Gallues and his brother Felix, and its brick oven, built around 1927, was reconstructed in 1992 through a cooperative effort with the Tahoe National Forest.

California · United States