Abandoned Towns
Main Street in Genoa running south under big trees, with the Carson Range behind

Railroad and road town

Genoa

Mormon Station, the 1851 trading post at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, grew into Genoa, Nevada's first town. A 1910 fire took the old station; the town is still lived in, with a state historic park on Main Street.

39°00′16″N 119°50′50″W · ≈4,810 ft

Photo: Kf6gpe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Lived in; park open

Genoa is a living town of 1,343 people (2020 census); homes are private. Mormon Station State Historic Park on Main Street is always open and free; its museum costs $1 and keeps seasonal hours (Nevada State Parks, read October 29, 2026). The Kinsey House in the park is not open.

Overview

Nevada's first town

Genoa, East Foot of Sierra Nevada: John J. Young's drawing for Captain Simpson's 1859 expedition
Genoa, East Foot of Sierra Nevada: John J. Young's drawing for Captain Simpson's 1859 expedition · Photo: John J. Young, Artist (NARA record: 4400191), Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

In early June 1850 a party of Mormons set up a trading post at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, a mile north of today's park, and left that September. On June 1, 1851, the Salt Lake merchants John and Enoch Reese arrived and built Mormon Station, a trading post on the Carson Route of the California Trail and the first settlement in what became Nevada. Orson Hyde, sent to organize Carson County, renamed it Genoa in 1856 after the Italian city.

Genoa had its moment early. The Territorial Enterprise was founded here in 1858 before moving to Virginia City, the Pony Express stopped here from 1860, and in 1861 it was briefly the capital of Nevada Territory and became the Douglas County seat. Snowshoe Thompson carried the mail on skis between Genoa and Sacramento for 12 years until his death in 1876. Then on June 28, 1910 a fire destroyed the original Mormon Station buildings and much of the town, and the lot stood empty until a replica fort went up in 1947-48.

Genoa never emptied. It is an unincorporated town of 1,343 people (2020 census), with a town government paid for by the Candy Dance, held since 1919, usually on the last weekend of September. Wikipedia lists it among Nevada's ghost towns as a historic site, a class that list uses for places turned into historic sites or still lived in but smaller than at their peak.

Video

An autumn afternoon in Genoa

A YouTuber spends an October afternoon in Genoa. At Mormon Station State Historic Park he finds the Pony Express plaque, the Snowshoe Thompson statue and his skis in the museum, talks with a docent, walks the log stockade and gets a state park passport stamp. Then he looks into the Genoa Bar, a church with a bell tower, an old Lincoln Highway marker and a Main Street shop, while the noon bells ring. The end card says it was filmed in October 2025. The narrator reads a museum admission of $5; Nevada State Parks gives $1.

Play “Genoa Oldest Town in Nevada” from YouTube
“Genoa Oldest Town in Nevada”, by Postcard Dan on YouTube. The player loads from YouTube when you press play.

Timeline

From Mormon Station to the state park

The Sons of Utah Pioneers plaque at Mormon Station, telling the story from 1850 to the 1948 replica fort, August 2020
The Sons of Utah Pioneers plaque at Mormon Station, telling the story from 1850 to the 1948 replica fort, August 2020 · Photo: Ironrodpower, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  1. A Mormon party led by Abner and Thomas Blackburn, Hampton S. Beatie and Joseph Dumont sets up a trading post about a mile north of today's park; it leaves in September.
  2. Salt Lake merchants John and Enoch Reese arrive and build Mormon Station, a trading post on the Carson Route of the California Trail.
  3. Orson Hyde, sent to organize Carson County, renames the settlement Genoa after the Italian city.
  4. The Territorial Enterprise is founded here, before it moves to Virginia City.
  5. Genoa becomes a Pony Express stop.
  6. Briefly the first capital of Nevada Territory; it becomes the Douglas County seat.
  7. Snowshoe Thompson, who carried the mail on skis between Genoa and Sacramento for 12 years, dies.
  8. Fire destroys the original Mormon Station buildings and much of the town; the lot stands empty for decades.
  9. The first Candy Dance, held since to pay for the town government.
  10. A replica of the fort is built and dedicated on July 24, 1948.
  11. Mormon Station State Historic Park is established.
  12. The Genoa Historic District is listed on the National Register.
  13. Census: 1,343, up from 939 in 2010.

What to see

Main Street and the state park

Main Street businesses, June 2012
Main Street businesses, June 2012 · Photo: Ken Lund, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
The Genoa Courthouse Museum, September 2017
The Genoa Courthouse Museum, September 2017 · Photo: Bangorbilly, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Mormon Station State Historic Park, at 2295 Main Street, is always open and free. Its museum, a replica of the 1851 trading post, charges $1 and is open daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from May to September, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. from October to April, closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays in that season (Nevada State Parks, read October 29, 2026). The park's 1856 Kinsey House, one of Nevada's oldest surviving homes, is not open yet.

The Genoa Historic District covers 129.5 acres with 29 contributing buildings. The Genoa Courthouse Museum is a block from the park on Main Street. The Genoa Bar, which Wikipedia dates to 1853, was signed "Nevada's oldest thirst parlor" in a 2007 photo and still is in the October 2025 video. Walley's Hot Springs, first built in 1862, is a mile south of town, and the cemetery is north of it.

Homes in Genoa are private. Main Street, the park and the cemetery are where a visitor can look around.

  • Mormon Station replica fort and museum (1947-48)
  • Kinsey House (1856), not open
  • Genoa Courthouse Museum
  • Genoa Bar
  • Reese-Johnson-Virgin House (the Pink House)
  • Genoa Cemetery

Old and new maps

Genoa on the map

The 1891 Carson sheet marks Genoa where the Carson Range meets the flat Carson Valley. The 1956 Carson City sheet shows the town at the mouth of Genoa Canyon with the cemetery to the north and the "Genoa Fort State Park" beside it; the 1968 and 1994 Genoa sheets name the Mormon Station Historic State Monument and draw the town's houses spreading east of Main Street.

USGS topographic map of Genoa at the foot of the Carson Range, with Genoa Canyon and the national forest boundary
USGS The National Map, topo. Genoa where Genoa Canyon opens onto the Carson Valley, below the national forest boundary.
Aerial view of Genoa's tree-lined streets and fields
Aerial imagery, same area. The town's streets under trees, with fields to the east.

Historic maps

Genoa on USGS maps, 1891–1994

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around Genoa, 1891
Carson sheet, 1891, 1:125,000 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Map & directions

Getting there

Genoa is 7.1 miles from Minden by US 395 and Genoa Lane. From Reno, take I-580 and US 395 south through Carson City. Both routes end at Mormon Station State Historic Park on Main Street.

USGS topographic map of Genoa at the foot of the Carson Range, with routes drawn on it

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

From downtown Minden7.1 miabout 12 min
  1. From downtown Minden, take Esmeralda Avenue and 7th Street to US 395.0.1 mi
  2. Follow US 395 north.3.2 mi
  3. Turn left on Genoa Lane (SR 206) and follow it west into Genoa.3.7 mi
  4. Turn right on Main Street to Mormon Station.0.1 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Directions go to Mormon Station State Historic Park, where the drive ends, not to the townsite.

Road and safety notes

  • Homes in Genoa are private property.
  • The Kinsey House in the state park is not open (Nevada State Parks, October 2026).

Photos

Genoa in photos

Visitor reports

Been to Genoa?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near Genoa

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Nevada index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. Wikipedia, "Genoa, Nevada", read October 29, 2026: the 1851 founding, the 1856 renaming by Orson Hyde, the Territorial Enterprise, the Pony Express, the 1861 capital and county seat, Snowshoe Thompson, the 1910 fire, the Candy Dance since 1919, the bar dated 1853, Walley's Hot Springs, the historic district's 1975 listing, census counts, coordinates.
  2. Wikipedia, "List of ghost towns in Nevada", read October 29, 2026: Genoa listed as a historic site, and what that class means.
  3. ghosttowns.com, "Genoa", read October 29, 2026: the ghost town listing, 2WD road, climate, best time, a few buildings as remains, Snowshoe Thompson and his 12 years carrying the mail.
  4. Nevada State Parks, Mormon Station State Historic Park, read October 29, 2026: address, hours, fees, the replica trading post, the 1856 Kinsey House, the park's 1957 founding.
  5. Sons of Utah Pioneers plaque, Mormon Station (photo August 22, 2020, Wikimedia Commons): the 1850 party, John and Enoch Reese on June 1, 1851, the June 28, 1910 fire and the 1947-48 replica dedicated July 24, 1948.
  6. Postcard Dan, "Genoa Oldest Town in Nevada", YouTube, posted April 18, 2026 (filmed October 2025, per its end card): the video on this page; the park, museum, stockade, bar, church and Lincoln Highway marker.
  7. USGS topographic maps: Carson 1:125,000 (1891), Carson City 1:62,500 (1956), Genoa 1:24,000 (1968, 1994).
  8. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits