The Elgin Schoolhouse Museum represents an era of one-room schoolhouses in Nevada. Illustration by Mike Miller.

Representing an era when one-room schoolhouses provided education for Nevada children living in remote rural areas, the Elgin Schoolhouse Museum in Lincoln County served children living on ranches, in mining camps and at small railroad stops for 45 years from 1922 to 1967. The sturdy, restored schoolhouse south of Caliente became Nevada's newest state park in October, joining the ranks of seven other state parks in Eastern Nevada.

Elgin Schoolhouse Museum opened this spring for tours guided by a retired teacher from Panaca, a seasonal state parks employee. She welcomes visitors Fridays through Sundays through next September. Nevada State Parks charges no fee to visit the schoolhouse, its attached teacher's quarters and the large playground with original equipment, However, the park welcomes cash donations or items for display appropriate to the era.

Visitors from Las Vegas touring the Elgin Schoolhouse Museum choose between two approach options. The shortest route, taking about an hour and a half, involves 38 miles of graded gravel road. To reach it, drive 21 miles north from Las Vegas on Interstate 15 to the Apex turnoff onto U.S. Highway 93. Follow this highway north 42 miles to the marked turnoff into Kane Springs Wash, a route popular with locals as it cuts off about 30 miles from the journey to Caliente, approaching through Rainbow Canyon. The schoolhouse sits on the right side of the road opposite the Bradshaw Ranch near the Union Pacific Railroad tracks south of Caliente.

Visitors may also approach by way of U.S. 93 through Alamo to Caliente, 150 miles from Las Vegas. At the town's southern edge, take the partially paved road south 21 miles through Rainbow Canyon to Elgin. Keep in mind that this road received severe flood damage last summer. Closed for months, it reopened with temporary repairs, awaiting funding for major reconstruction.

Attracted by abundant water, pioneer ranchers raised livestock and established homes along the Meadow Valley Wash through Rainbow Canyon decades before the arrival of the railroad. In 1901, the Salt Lake City, San Pedro and Los Angeles Railroad pushed its main line though the area.

The company, later bought out by the Union Pacific, first founded Caliente on the site of a ranch in a canyon near some hot springs, hence the name Caliente, Spanish for hot. Then the railroad established sidings every five miles down the canyon where engines took on water, including Elgin where there was a small depot and employee housing near the Bradshaw Ranch.

Lincoln County early established small districts in Rainbow Canyon, but had no money for buildings. Ranch children typically received home schooling as the nearest school was north in Panaca, 36 miles from the Bradshaw Ranch. The problem grew worse with the addition of children of railroad employees. For years, the children rode the trains to attend school in makeshift buildings.

In 1921 the railroad provided the funding for a schoolhouse and rancher James Bradshaw donated seven acres of land for the school and grounds. Rueben Bradshaw, a son of the rancher, bid successfully to build the Elgin Schoolhouse for $3,300 in 1922. An addition in 1924 provided housing for the teacher. Area children, including many Bradshaw offspring, attended the one-room school until the last teacher turned the lock behind the last student in 1967. The school stood empty for more than 30 years, its old-fashioned playground equipment stored nearby by rancher Bradshaw,

In 1998, Lynn Bradshaw Wood spearheaded a two-year restoration project to reopen the school as a museum. Relatives and friends donated labor, money and furnishings for the project which opened in May 2000, a real labor of love backed by former students. Over the next five years, visitors toured the charming old schoolhouse with its white walls and red roof, decked out as if awaiting opening day of a new school year. The classroom and the teacher's spare but comfortable quarters provided a glimpse of yesteryear. Last fall, the Bradshaws turned the property over to the State of Nevada for a state historic park.

Margo Bartlett Pesek's column appears on Sundays.