Site of hot mineral springs, Sodaville was the main stop for travelers between Reno and Tonopah as it was the end of the east bound rail line. As such, Sodaville was the transfer point for freight to be offloaded from the train and transferred to the stagecoach before heading across the desert. It's said that the trip to Tonopah was so dusty that a man would need a shovel to scoop away the dirt to find his wife among the passengers. So much freight passes through the town that chaos was the rule. Sodaville's usefulness ended when the rail was extended eastward to Tonopah.