| Beaver Dam State Park is Eastern Nevada's most remote park, and is a popular area for hikers and nature enthusiasts who enjoy its primitive and rustic character. Deep canyons, pinion and juniper forests, a flowing stream and a small reservoir are the primary features, offering fishing, camping, picnicking, hiking, photography and nature study.Deep canyons, meandering streams, and diverse plant communities characterize the park's landscape. Volcanic rocks are dominant and include extrusive pink rhyolite, dark red and gray andesites and white ash-fall tuffs. Vegetation varies from dense to sparse depending upon the microclimate, soil cover, topography, and other physical conditions. Dominant plants include pinion-juniper woodlands, ponderosa pines, sage brush, Gambel oak, willow and cottonwoods, and several varieties of cactus. The native wildlife at Beaver Dam is also diverse. Common animals include beaver (who actually build dams along the stream), mule deer, rabbits, bull frogs, a variety of birds, bats, rodents, lizards, and snakes. The Nevada Division of Wildlife stocks Schroeder Reservoir and the streams with rainbow trout. Desert suckers and golden shiner fish are also locally abundant.Indians first explored this area, camping and hunting along the streams of Headwaters Creek and Pine Creek. The streams join to form Beaver Dam Wash above the reservoir. Spaniards may have also crossed the region between 1540 and 1775 while establishing trade routes in the Southwest. In 1849, a group of emigrants left the established old Spanish trail to the south on their way to seek gold in California.In hospitable weather and terrain forced them to abandon their wagons on the east rim of Pine Park Canyon. They proceeded on foot with their horses and mules but before leaving the area, two men, Wesley Smith and Henry W. Bigler (who later became governor of California) engraved their initials in a cliff: "WHB, Saturday, Nov. 3, 1849". The first to homestead the area was the Hamblin family during the 1860s. Today only remains of an early 1930s railroad tie house and wooden corral are visible.Interest in the park began in 1917 when residents of Clover Valley (now Barclay) would visit the Hamblin Ranch (near the present western park boundary) for a day or two outing. The 1935 State Legislature designated Beaver Dam as a state park due to the insistence and support of local residents and state officials. Exceptional scenery and the recreational possibilities of Beaver Dam Wash were primary considerations in the park's designation. Camping facilities were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1934-36. No other improvements were made until August 1961 when the dam was completed; creating the reservoir that provides flood control and enhanced fishing opportunities. Dedicated in 1962, the 15-acre reservoir was named for George Schroeder, an engineer who suffered a heart attack at the construction site. New campgrounds were later developed away from the flood-prone wash, where those built by the CCC had washed away. |
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