Cover as History: Monoville isn’t quite sure where it fits into history.
Dogtown is considered the first settlement or camp founded by prospectors working in the Eastern Sierra region. Established in about 1857, the camp’s initial residents were placer miners who began working a nearby creek (now known as Dogtown Creek). The discovery generated a bit of buzz among local miners and by 1858 more than 100 had settled in the camp and were scouring the region for little specs of gold color. Because of a lack of building materials in the area, most of their dwellings were little more than stone shacks. Dogtown was never very profitable, but it was significant as being the first eastern Sierra placer settlement. A new find five miles to the east of Dogtown (at what was to become Monoville) had initial reports that gold was just lying around on the ground for the taking. While this was no doubt an exaggeration, within a month nearly everyone in Dogtown packed up and relocated to the more promising site, which was named Monoville because it overlooked Mono Lake. By late 1860, (when this cover was sent) Monoville boasted more than three-dozen wooden houses, hotels, a post office, the usual number of saloons and a population estimated at between 500 and 2,000 people. There was even talk of locating the county seat of the newly created Mono County in Monoville. Water and winters were a problem. Mark Twain summed up the second problem quite nicely. He said that Monoville only had two seasons: the breaking of one winter and the beginning of the next, plus a conviction that continuous winter served as the connecting link! (Above are rock formations from Monoville.)
Monoville began to decline in 1861 with the discovery of significant silver and gold deposits in nearby Aurora. It is said that the residents of Monoville packed up lock, stock, and barrel and headed to the new town of Esmeralda, or as it came to be known, Aurora. So, Dogtown was important as the first Eastern Sierra Placer find and Aurora was important as a major gold and silver producing area in Nevada (only bested by the Comstock). And Monoville, like the middle child, is pretty much just plain forgotten to history! |
History of Cover: If Monoville had an identity crisis as to its place in history, it had a bigger crisis in regards to where it was located. Within a year it was located in three different states / territories!
The United States Post office opened a branch here on December 3, 1859 in the Utah Territory. Remember that there was no definitive survey between California and the Utah Territory in 1859. (As a matter of fact Susanville and Aurora would be declared in both California and Nevada (former Utah Territory) in a few years and have elected officials from both states!) The official record above from the rolls of the Untied States Post Office clearly show it was officially located in the Utah Territory which would become the Nevada Territory in sixteen months. So on March 2, 1861 Monoville was now in Nevada - officially. The mail arrived weekly in Monoville from Genoa, Nevada.
Still it was definitely in California. And according to the official records it was never in California. Glad that is finished. But wait...there is more! The controversy doesn't end here. Below is a cover that clearly is postmarked as California. Some postal history historians say Monoville was officially located in California when Mono County was established. But look at the official Post Office Record above. It never states the post office was moved from Utah Territory, meaning it was still officially in Nevada! So, Monoville was officially in Utah Territory and Nevada Territory and unofficially located in California during its short 2 1/2 years of existence. But it was always in California - first in Calaveras County and later in Mono County! No wonder the town had an identity crisis! |
Post Office Dates:
Carson County, Utah Territory: December 3, 1859 - March 3, 1861
Esmeralda County, March 2, 1861 - April 15, 1862
(Only until April 22, 1861 if you believe that the post office was ever officially changed to California.)
This is the second earliest and only one of two known Monoville, Nevada Territory cancels. Rated R-10.
Carson County, Utah Territory: December 3, 1859 - March 3, 1861
Esmeralda County, March 2, 1861 - April 15, 1862
(Only until April 22, 1861 if you believe that the post office was ever officially changed to California.)
This is the second earliest and only one of two known Monoville, Nevada Territory cancels. Rated R-10.