A marker in Douglas County on Foothill Road commemorates the town of Sheridan. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Sheridan was once a metropolis in Nevada.

Do you even know where this Douglas County town is located?

Well, it’s not a town anymore. As with so many towns that sprouted in the West, settlers moved on and the town withered away.

A marker on Foothill Road in the Carson Valley tells a brief story about the area.

The historical marker in full says, “In 1861, a blacksmith shop, a store, boarding house, and two saloons comprised the village of Sheridan. The village had grown up around Moses Job’s general store, established prior to 1855. The Surveyor General, in his 1889-90 biennial report, stated that Sheridan was the metropolis of the Carson River West Fork farmers. The Sheridan House, erstwhile boarding abode, has been converted to a dwelling. It may be seen across the road. It is all that remains of the ‘metropolis.’ Moses Job, an irrepressible man, climbed the peak above this location, planted the American flag and with a shout named the peak after himself. Job’s Canyon is above, and to its left is Job’s Peak. To its right is Job’s Sister.”

1861 is when Job sold the store and 800 acres that included the original town site to J.W. Haines and I.W. Duncan, according to Clairitage Press.

The town’s name supposedly came from Union Army Gen. Philip Henry Sheridan. However, he didn’t become a general until 1888.

Until reading the marker last month I didn’t know how Job’s Peak, which is prominent from the South Shore, got its name.

At 10,638 feet, it the fourth tallest peak in the Tahoe area. Freel Peak is at 10,886 feet, Job’s Sister is 10,823 feet, and Mount Rose is 10,785 feet.