Franktown was established by Orson Hyde, probate judge of Carson County, Utah Territory, in the Wassau Valley (Washoe Valley) in 1855.

A sawmill was built and became an important enterprise in furnishing timber to the Comstock mines. The Dall Mill, a quartz mill of 60 stamps, employed hundreds of workmen.

Fertile farms surrounded the town.

With the completion of the railroad from Carson City to Virginia City in 1869, the milling business rapidly lost its importance and the once prosperous town declined.

Notes on this marker:

Hwy 395 cuts through Washoe Valley, Franktown Road winds beautifully along the western edge of the valley.