Sherman Station
Bavarian rancher Valentine Walther and his wife Sophie relocated from Diamond Valley to Huntington Valley in January 1876, establishing a homestead on Sherman Creek. Living in covered wagons until winter passed, they completed their first home that summer. For many subsequent years, what became known as Sherman Station was a stop on the stage route between Elko and the mines at Eureka and Hamilton. During this time, the Walthers served meals and provided lodging. Mr. Walther also had one of Nevada's most fruitful orchards, complete with cherries, plums, apricots, and over 250 apple trees. He also had a large garden of vegetables, raspberries, strawberries, and grapes. By 1886, the family had expanded to have eleven children (a twelfth died at only two months), and Mr. Walther established the Sherman School District No. 31 on May 9 of that year, with school housed in a log cabin on the ranch.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck the Walther family in June 1895. During a trip to visit neighbors, a wagon accident occured and Sophie was killed, leaving Valentine alone to care for their children.
In 1902, Walther, with help from Nick Scott, began construction on a two-story, nine-room log home built of eighteen-inch logs. It was finally completed after two years. Meanwhile, Sherman gained its post office, and a second school - the Dewey School - opened within the district.
The post office and Dewey School both closed in 1915, and the Walther family sold the ranch in 1922. Mr. Walther moved to Elko, where he died eleven years later. The Sherman school, after half a century of operation, closed in the 1930s. The ranch passed through a number of hands, and a new home was eventually built. By the 1990s, the old ranch was part of the XJ Ranch owned by Peter and Kathy Scheidemann, and in 1995 the main home and outbuildings were donated to the Elko Chamber of Commerce. In 1997, the buildings were moved 60 miles to their current home in Elko, and in 1999 reopened as the Elko Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center.
