Add an Article Add an Event Edit

Ruby Valley School

HC 60 Box 620
775-779-2289

Fort Halleck: Originally called Camp Halleck, the post was established by Captain Samuel P. Smith in 1867. General H.W. Halleck was the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army at the time. On the western slope of the Rubies it existed until 1886. The fort was established to protect emigrant groups and the railroad. 

Fort Ruby: (Ruby Valley in northern White Pine County) Established in 1862 by Colonel Edward P. Connor with 600 men who marched all the way from Stockton, California. A reservation of six square miles was laid out and given the name Camp Ruby. Its name came from the nearby mountains where pioneers found "rubies" and "ruby sand," actually garnets, in the gravel of the streams. 

Harrison Pass: (Ruby Mountains) Thomas Harrison, a native of England, came to Elko County in 1865 and established a ranch in Ruby Valley. 

Starr Valley: (Between Halleck and Wells) Lieutenant Augustus Washington Starr came with Captain S.P. Smith to established Fort Halleck in 1867. After leaving the army Starr bought land in the valley and is credited with being the place's first settler. By 1870 he had left the area. 

Te-Moak Indian Reservation: (Lee) Formed in the late 1930's by the government from established private cattle operations on the South Fork near Lee. The Bureau of Indian Affairs purchased several ranches and located Native American families of the Shoshone tribe of Te-Moak Indians on them. Named for Chief Te-Moak of Ruby Valley. The name means "rope." He was named that because he braided rope. Te-Moak rose to power among his people through personal influence, not hereditary lineage. He is remembered for the treaty he negotiated with the government to allow emigrants to pass through this region unmolested by the Indians.