Parran

Churchill County

After experiencing financial trouble, the Central Pacific Railroad, which had been operating in the area for three decades, sold out to the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1899. In the very early 1900's, the Southern Pacific not only rebuilt old line, but also established some new line. One of the new lines established in 1902-1903, followed the Carson River route instead of the old Truckee route. This allowed them to avoid the steep country around White Plains hill. New stations were built at Huxley, Parran and Ocala to accommodate the new route. While the new route had its own issues such as lack of water in the area, it was still more successful. Production of salt and other non-metallic minerals in the area had been in decline. Further developments occurred in the area based on the new location of the railroad. In 1902, the Kinney Saline Deposits Association built a salt works near Parran because of the accessibility to the new Southern Pacific line. While these endeavors only lasted less than a decade, it's safe to say that they never would have started in the first place without the rail line changes.

Post Office: January 29, 1910 to July 31, 1913.

Last Trip/ Road Conditions. The last trip was in May of 2019. The photographs are from that trip. Parran sits off of the rural section of highway between I-80 west of Lovelock and Highway 50 at Fallon.