Nevada City
In early 1915, western Nevada was visited by C.V. Eggleston of the Llano del Rio Company (which created the Llano del Rio Colony, another Socialist colony in Southern California). In August of the same year, he was relieved of his duties in California and returned to Reno to begin developing the Nevada Colony Corporation, which was filed with the secretary of state on October 12, 1915.
In early 1916, Eggleston began to campaign in Lahontan Valley, near Fallon. Before long, Eggleston had acquired 1700 acres of land from fifteen local farmers, and the ranch formerly owned by J.S. Harmon was to become the location of the Nevada City. The first colonists arrived in May 1916. In January 1918, the population peaked at about 200. A newspaper, the Cooperative Colonist, was in print and about three dozen buildings had been built. After that, the population rapidly declined. Extensive plans, including a hotel, library, sunken gardens, croquet grounds, and a gas station, were never realized. The colony went into recievership on May 1, 1919, but a few families held on until early 1920.
Today little remains of Nevada City; the original Harmon ranch house and barn remain on the site of the colony and a nearby road bears its name.
