Denverton is an original township, located in the lower portion of the county at the head of Nurse’s Slough. It was bordered by Suisun Township on the west, Elmira and Maine Prairie on the north, Rio Vista on the east, and Montezuma on the North. Today, it is about 10 miles east of Fairfield. It was formerly called Nurse’s Landing, its named being changed in 1858 in honor of J. W. Denver, a member of Congress from this district.

Shared here are two wonderful references regarding the history and settlement of Denverton. The first is an article published in The Reporter on Monday, August 07, 2000 and is transcribed here with permission from its owner and author, Jerry Bowen:

Denverton was once known as Nurse's Landing

Every day thousands of travelers and strung-out commuters zoom past a road sign on Highway 12 that points to Denverton Road not far from the Western Railroad Museum. Should you choose to leave Highway 12 here, a fading and dusty street sign on this quiet road greets you declaring this to be the “Rio Vista-Denverton Road.” An old ranch, a couple of newer structures and a bridge over a swampy waterway are all that occupy the quiet lane.

This quick detour into history ends in less than a mile at a stop sign just before you fling your vehicle back onto busy Highway 12 and the harsh reality of today. It is hard to believe now, but you just passed through the sprawling and once thriving community of Denverton.

This patch of almost forgotten real estate was first known as Nurse’s Landing, then renamed Denverton in 1858 to honor a member of Congress from the district, J. W. Denver. The dubious honor was for his part in supporting the land squatters by opposing a bill in Congress to confirm all existing land grants under ten leagues.

The Denverton site lies about nine miles east of Fairfield at what was once the head of navigation of Nurse’s slough. The 1878 Thompson and West map shows “Nurse’s Slough” passing through the center of town with a bridge crossing it. On today’s maps the tributary has since been designated as “Denverton Slough.”

Perhaps the most interesting account of Denverton is about its industrious founder, S. K. Nurse who was born in New York in 1820. He taught school in Michigan and New York from 1839 to 1840, then in Ohio for two years where he also worked as a farmhand.

In 1842 he studied medicine and dentistry and worked as a traveling dentist until 1847, when he moved to Springfield, Illinois where he was employed as a telegraph operator. In 1848 he left for California via the Panama Canal arriving in San Francisco during the gold rush.

From 1849 to 1852, he mined for gold, ran a stage line for L. B. Mizner and worked in South America as a surveyor for a railroad company.

After returning from South America he lived in Benicia for a short time and finally settled in Montezuma Township, where he built a 144 square foot house, the first building in what would become known as Nurse’s Landing.

In 1855 he was elected to the first Solano County Board of Supervisors. He was also a member of the Masonic Order and was a member and Master of Benicia Lodge, No. 5; one of the oldest in the State.

A post office was established at Denverton in 1858 with Dr. Nurse serving as postmaster for the next 21 years. The post office closed in 1911.

S. K. Nurse’s brother, D. A. Nurse, who had also been living in Denverton was killed in 1862 when the steamship Golden Gate burned and sank off the coast of Mexico while he and his wife were making a trip to the East. Mrs. Nurse was rescued and returned to Denverton. In the following year she and S. K. Nurse were married.

Nurse erected a brick store in 1866, followed by a 100 foot-long wharf, later increasing it to 300 feet. In 1867 he attempted to establish a grain shipping port by erecting a large hay warehouse and a 60 by 160 foot brick warehouse near the wharf with a storage capacity of 2,500 tons of grain. With some of the best farmland for growing grain, the town’s prospects for growth appeared firmly established. But, as was the case in so many other rising Solano communities, changes in transportation routes and methods would spell disaster for the town’s future prospects.

The coming of the California Pacific Railroad signaled the long slow decline of Denverton. It was far more economical to ship by rail than by water. In addition, nearby Collinsville had better river access for shipping, a factor which also contributed heavily to the demise of the community.

In 1875, Dr. Nurse constructed a telegraph line from Denverton to Suisun for his own convenience. In the following year the line was merged into the Montezuma Telegraph Co. Later, the line was extended from Rio Vista to Suisun via Collinsville, Birds Landing, and Denverton. It was 35 miles in length, and had six offices with Dr. Nurse as president, and Dr. M. Pietrzycki, of Rio Vista as vice-president.

In 1878 the town had a store and a blacksmith shop, a wheelwright, a meat market, a hotel, a school-house, and a Good Templars Hall.

Religious services, the mainstay of all the early communities, had its beginning with Sunday school in 1864. In 1870, the Cumberland Presbyterians erected a church about halfway between Denverton and Birds Landing. It was destroyed by fire in 1875 and rebuilt a year later. Today, the Shiloh Church, stands as a silent sentinel over the prairie as a testament to the past. Its well maintained cemetery serves as the final resting place for many of the area’s early pioneers. In 1955 the church was restored and designated as a historic landmark and is maintained by members of the Montezuma 4H Club.

When Highway 40 (now I-80) was being built, Denverton was bypassed by a secondary road, today’s Highway 12.

As you cross the bridge on the Denverton road, pause from your daily routine, look down the waterway and imagine what it was like to see the shallow-draft boats pulling alongside Nurse’s wharf a few hundred yards upstream. Just below are the decaying pilings that once supported the old wooden bridge in the center of town. To your right on the Highway 12 side of the road was the school and hotel and across the street a store and several residences. On the left was the Good Templars Hall where the seeds of Temperance were sown in these early days. Today it is all just a another memory of Solano County’s past, a past filled with the frail building blocks of a community that was doomed to failure from the start.

Jerry Bowen is an avid history buff, a member of the Vacaville Heritage Council, chairman of the Solano County Historic Records Commission, and a member of the Solano County Sesquicentennial Committee. He alternates his history column every Sunday with Vacaville Museum Curator Sabine Goerke-Shrode. To read more articles on the history of Solano County Click here

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The next reference is from History of Solano County:

The first house in the township was built by Dr. S. K. Nurse in 1853. The entire country was then one great stretch of wild oats, reaching to a man’s shoulders while on horseback, through which herds of elks, antelope and deer roamed at will. This building was soon followed by a residence erected by D. K. Berry, located about one-half mile to the eastward of Nurse’s home. The old house was standing in 1878, on its original site. In 1854 Dr. Nurse built a store-house. He also constructed a wharf, with 100 feet frontage. It has since been extended to 300 feet [1879]. Mr. Stewart and his son Samuel, the Arnolds, Daniels, Cooks and others, followed in rapid succession, until the land was all taken.”

”In 1866 Dr. Nurse erected a fine brick store building. In 1867 he built a brick warehouse, 60X160 feet, with a storage capacity of 2,500 tons. The post-office was established in 1858, and Dr. Nurse appointed postmaster; he has held the office without interruption [since 1896], thus making him an incumbent for 21 years. He is probably the veteran officeholder in Solano County, if not in California. In 1875 Dr. Nurse constructed a telegraph line, connecting Denverton with Suisun. In 1876 this line was merged into the Montezuma Telegraph company, of which was president. In 1870 the Good Templars erected a building for lodge purposes. The lodge has thrived and sustained a good membership at that place for a great many years.”

Source: History of Solano County : comprising an account of its geographical position, the origin of its name, topography, geology, and springs, its organization, township system, early settlement, with descriptions of scenes as viewed by the pioneers, the first American argonauts of California, the bear flag, the discovery of gold, the progress of population and agriculture, the Mexican grants, the principal murders, incidents of settlement, elections, and table of county officers, and histories of its cities, towns, villages churches, schools, secret societies, etc. : as also, a full and particular biography of its early settlers and principal inhabitants. San Francisco, Calif.. Wood, Alley & Co.. 1879.