Palisade was laid out by the (then) Central Pacific in February 1870, and initially rivaled Elko and Carlin to the east as a stage and freight hub. The Western Pacific was also built through here in the early 1900s, over strenuous objections by the Southern Pacific (the successor to the Central Pacific). In the 1920s, however, the lines sensibly came up with a joint operating arrangement, with westbound trains on the north track and eastbound trains on the south.
The biggest boost to Palisade’s fortunes, however, was the arrival of the Eureka & Palisade Railroad in October 1875. This narrow-gauge line linked the newly booming mines in Eureka, Nevada, to the transcontinental route, and its headquarters were located in Palisade.
The initial boom years lasted till about 1885, with exhaustion of the bonanza ores in Eureka. The decline lasted till the early 20th century, when a new boom from the rejuvenated mines lasted from 1905-1909. This second boom was short-lived, as catastrophic flooding wiped out the tracks for a couple of years, and the line—now renamed the Eureka Nevada—never really recovered. It lingered into the 1930s, with the last train running in September 1938.
Palisade’s post office finally closed in the early 1960s. A ranch remains as the only active operation at the site. Only scattered ruins are now left of the mining past. Even the extensive infrastructure for transferring the ore from the narrow-gauge to the standard gauge lines is all gone, and little trace of the old narrow-gauge line remains.
The standard gauge lines are both now part of the Union Pacific, and they are still in active use, with multiple trains per day—but the activity all bypasses Palisade now.
