Baker is a quiet rural community where you can still step back into a simpler time. Although Baker has not changed much since it was founded to serve the area ranches and mines, it provides a post office, motels, restaurants, gas, souvenirs, etc. The original post office in Baker was designated on February 18, 1895 and continued service until September 14, 1901 when the mail was re-routed to Garrison, Utah. On November 1, 1909, the United States Postal Service again designated a post office in Baker and it continues in operation. Peace competes with quiet as the main attraction. Although a small town, Baker is big on amenities! Baker is a comfortable headquarters for exploring the National Park, or the nearby Mt. Moriah Wilderness area. Recreation ranges from enjoying all the Park attractions, the nearby Wilderness Area, exploring the wide-open spaces, to sipping a cool drink and watching a glorious sunset. Baker is located sixty miles east of Ely. Take Highway 6 & 50 east to Nevada 487. It is five miles from this junction into Baker.
Western Shoshone, as well as Goshutes, a few Ute and Southern Paiute were the first inhabitants of the area. The hunter-gatherer way of life meant the natives roamed a lot, but stayed sheltered in the cold winter months. These original inhabitants had an extensive knowledge of plant and animal life; this knowledge, shared with the early pioneers, helped many would-be miners and ranchers to survive the rugged winters.
The star attraction in White Pine County is 13,063’ Wheeler Peak, located in the Great Basin National Park near Baker. The early 1800’s brought the first white pioneers to the area. “The far tall peak in the desert” fascinated them. An early military topographer, Captain James Hervey Simpson, named this majestic peak “Jeff Davis Peak,” after President Lincoln’s Secretary of War. The peak was renamed Union Peak in contempt of Jefferson Davis’s treason in switching his allegiance.
Around 1872, one of the nations leading topographers, Captain George Montague Wheeler was assigned the task of an exploratory survey of various routes west, including the Simpson trail through Nevada. Upon seeing the majesty of the Peak, Captain Wheeler renamed the fabulous White Pine landmark after himself. Wheeler was ordered to revise his reports and confirm the Union Peak title. He retired without rectifying the deliberate fault. The spectacular peak still reigns as “Wheeler Peak.”
Prominent among early pioneers in the Snake Valley was George W. Baker who formed the Baker Ranch. In 1892, the Baker Ranch became Baker town, complete with post office. The town Baker, Baker Lake and Baker Creek were named for the early rancher.
Mid-1860 brought an adventurer, Absalom S. Lehman, to the area. Ab tried his hand at prospecting, ranching and farming with no notable success. His is an adventure story that could stand-alone. A dozen entertaining stories, some merely fantasy, others obviously elaborated, have competed with one another for over a century to explain how and when Absalom S. Lehman found the wondrous cave, now known as Lehman Caves in the Great Basin National Park.
On October 27, 1986, an Act of Congress created Great Basin National Park. Great Basin National Park encompasses 77,100 acres. High mountain peaks, lush meadows, clear mountain streams and alpine lakes, fascinating limestone caves, a sweeping scenic vista, hiking trails, camp grounds etc. are included in the park.
The park did not come into existence easily. One of the most persistent land-use conflicts of our country erupted and raged at intervals here during much of the 1900’s. Great Basin National Park lies in a region that is a crossroads of legendary explorers, miners, ranchers, and Native Americans, used to roaming at will. Civic groups, ranchers, miners, families, etc. divided into different camps on the issue. As with any major undertaking, it had (and has) its pros and cons.
View of the west slope of Mt. Wheeler as seen from the South Spring Valley Highway in White Pine County Nevada. Imagine the surprise for many desert travelers through the Great Basin when this majestic peak appears. For those of us who live here, it is always an awe inspiring sight! Al Frederick photo taken August 14, 1998.