A historic marker displayed on the front of Dayton’s Odeon Hall claims Ulysses S. Grant spoke from the balcony of the building. And while the pages of Nevada newspapers were filled with reports on Grant’s visit — he never spoke in Dayton.
The Lyon County Times in its November 1st, 1879 issue noted, “General Grant…passed through Dayton…He did not stop or pause…but hastened to Sutro…and General Grant spoke a few words.”
The Lyon County Times continues that had Grant stopped in Dayton the residents “would have given him one of those receptions which have made the country famous, which in war times earned it the name of the banner Republican county of the state…”
The former president spent three days making speeches in Virginia City and taking photographs, touring the mines, and traveling the length of the recently completed Sutro Tunnel. He and his wife boarded the V&T train October 29th bound for Reno on their way home to Galena, Illinois, never to return to Nevada again.
The Old Blog in the Desert 
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