Empire City, Nevada was originally the location of a ranch and stage stop in the 1850s, but after the discovery of the Comstock Lode it became an important milling and supply center. Each spring, when water was running high on the Carson River, masses of wood up to four miles long were floated down the river from the forests of the Sierra, arriving at Empire City where they were pulled ashore and transported to woodlots, later to be distributed throughout the Comstock mines and mills.
Dodge City’s Front Street, circa 1880, with a sign proclaiming, “The carrying of firearms strictly prohibited. Try Prickly Ash Bitters.” The Long Branch Saloon is second to the right of the brick building, Wright, Beverley & Co. (The Alamo Saloon, owned by Dodge City Mayor A.B. Webster, is in between.)