The Journey is the destination
Midas is a populated location and gold mining town located in Elko County, Nevada. The town is located in a valley along the Midas Creek on the south eastern slopes of the Owyhee Bluffs about 42 miles north east of Golconda, Nevada and 42 miles west of Tuscarora.
Doble California is a gold mining town and ghost town which is located off the western shore of Lake Baldwin in San Bernardino, California. The town began life as Bairdstown in 1873 when the Carter brothers filed a gold mine claim. The original town was named for Samuel Baird who was instrumental in securing financing from San Francisco and the capital to establish larger scale mining operations. Baird purchased the two richest claims from the Carter brothers in December of 1873 for a sum of $30,000. This “buyout” served as an impressive buyout for the short run of the Carter brothers.
One of these capitol investors was Elias Jackson “Lucky” Baldwin (April 3, 1828 – March 1, 1909) and known as was “one of the greatest pioneers” of California business, an investor, and real estate speculator during the second half of the 19th century.
Baldwin moved to Virginia City during to rush on the Comstock Load. Opening a livery the savvy businessman soon acquired interests the Ophir Mine in the came from the Motherlode of Virginia City. Baldwin leveraged his profits from the Ophir Mine to acquire shares in the Hale & Norcross and Crown Point at the north end of the Comstock Lode.
Baldwin’s new company built a road from Cactus Flats to Big Bear. This new route allowed for the hauling in machinery and parts for the huge 40-stamp mill to process the ore from the mines. The town was establised on the valley floor almost directly below the new mill. By September of 1874, the town boasts a blacksmith shop, a butcher, two boarding houses, and two saloons. Later, three general stores, two stables, three restaurants, two hotels, a bakery, a meat market, a Chinese wash house, tailor, shoemaker, and barber rounded our the businesses who serviced the miners and citizens of the small hamlet.
The mill was fired for the first time on March 6, 1875. The noise from the steam powered monster filled the valley of Big Bear as it processes 100 tons of ore per day. Despite this milestone, the town shutdown later in 1875 due to poor ore quality and the townsite is refereed to as Gold Mountain.
in 1894, Lucky’s son in-law, Budd Doble took invested $25,000 to reopen the mine and mill. The town was renamed in his honor and a small post office cemented this named into history. This town on Doble succumbed to poor profits and relegated to history in 1903
Today access to the Doble townsite is limited by the Forest Service due to recent fire damage.
| Name | Doble California |
| Location | Big Bear, San Bernarino, California |
| Also Known As | Bairdstown, Gold Mountain |
| Latitude, Longitude | 34.2986169,-116.8216958 |
| GNIS | 270883 |
Oreana Nevada is a milling town which was active from 1865 – 1885 in Pershing County Nevada and home to the Montezuma Smelting Works. The townsite is located on Interstate 80 / U.S. 95 about fourteen miles north east of Lovelock.
In 1865 a five stamp mill was relocated from Trinity and located on the eastern bank of the Humboldt River. This mill is used to process ore from the nearby Montezuma mine and the Arabia district.
In 1857 the Montezuma Smelting Works is built in Oreana, Nevada by the Trinity and Sacramento Company. The location of the smelting works is a bold choice for its Superintendent A. W. Nelson, who built the factory, which contained eight furnaces if a location with little fuel. The nearby mining districts of Arabia and the Trinity mining district were the primary source of ore to supply the plant with raw materials.
A hotel, boarding houses, post office, restaurants, meat market and general store kept the citizens feed and houses. In addition to mining and smelting, a livery and blacksmith and kept them working. The Oreana Jockey Club kept them entertained by sponsoring horses races. So long as the mines produced ore, the smelters processed it 24 hours a day.
At the time, Oreana is the largest in the Humboldt Valley. This title would later be taken by Lovelock, Nevada. Despite its solid foundations, Oreana found itself in financial trouble. Debt and Taxes caused a shutdown in 1869. And again in 1871. Today not much remains to indicate a town.
| Name | Oreana Nevada |
| Location | Pershing County, Nevada |
| Latitude, Longitude | 40.310833, -118.370556 |
| GNIS | |
| Elevation | 4160 Feet |
| Post Office | February 1867 – July 1869 February 1870 – September 1873 October 1873 – March 1883 |
Fort Churchill is a Civil War era United States Army Fort, Pony Express Station and overland stage stop located in Lyon County, Nevada just West of Buckland’s Station. The station is designated as a home station, where extra horses, firearms, men and provision are kept. The fort was commissioned to protect early settlers from the east from Indian attacks. The garrison was the largest, most elaborate fortification in the Nevada Territory at the time.
The discovery of gold in California caused a massive rush of people across the United States. Some of these early settlers came into the Nevada Territory and setup stage stops and mining operations. The arrival of settlers in their territory threatened the the Northern Paiute people. The increase populations of settlers increased the competition for local resources, such as game. These tensions, along with kidnapping and of rape of two young Paiute girls by prospectors from Williams Station erupted into Pyramid Lake War in 1860.
The U.S. Army fort was build along the Carson River and construction of Fort Churchill started on July 20, 1860. The base was named in honor of Sylvester Churchill who was the Inspector General of the Army. The fort is completed in early 1861 and home to some 200 soldiers charged with protecting settlers and mail routes. The post is abandoned in 1869.
On October 6, 1932, Nevada took control of the 200 acre fort and took steps to preserve the ruins as a state park.
Sources generally agree on the identity of Fort Churchill as a Pony Express stop. Built during the summer of 1860 by Captain Joseph Stewart and his men, the adobe fort housed the Pony Express station in its headquarters building. Construction on the fort began on July 20, 1860, approximately twenty-five miles from Comstock, Nevada, along the edge of the Carson River. When Richard Burton arrived at Fort Churchill on October 19, 1860, he gave it a positive review in his journal and named Captain F.F. Flint as the commander.
Since the Pony Express used Buckland’s as a home station, Fort Churchill probably assumed a similar function when the Pony Express transferred its station from Buckland’s to the fort. The Fort Churchill’s ruins existed as late as 1979, including the headquarters building, and it is a Nevada state park.
| Name | Fort Churchill |
| Location | Churchill County, Nevada |
| Other Names | Fort Churchill Station |
| NPS Pony Express Station | 153 |
| Next Westbound Station | Fairview Station |
| Next Eastbound Station | Buckland’s Station |
| National Historic Landmark | 66000456 |
Buckland Station is a pony express station, stage stop, boarding house and supplier near Fort Churchill in Lyon County, Nevada. The station is designated as a home station, where extra horses, firearms, men and provision are kept.
In 1857, Samual Buckland moved from California to the future site of Buckland’s Station. Buckland, a cattle rancher, improved the property by building a tradingpost, tent hotel, stage stop and toll bridge over the Carson River. A small log cabin was constructed in 1860.
Buckland’s Station served as a stop for the pony express when Buckland contracted with Bolivar Roberts in March 1860 for his ranch to serve as a Pony Express home station. Fort Churchill was established two miles to the west during the summer of 1860 as a result of the Pyramid Lake Indian War. With the establishment of Fort Churchill and its protective bulwarks, the pony express station was relocated.
On October 19, 1860, when Richard Burton visited Buckland’s, he described the station, as usual, in negative terms.
nps.gov
In 1861, Bucklands Station was honored as the county seat of Churchill County. It also served as the county seat for Lyon County Fort Churchill closed in 1869 and Samuel Buckland bought some of its building material and built a large impressive wooded framed house.
Buckland died on December 28, 1884 at 58 years in age. He and his family are buried at the Fort Churchill Cemetery. Today, the large house built by Buckland is restored and
| Name | Buckland’s Station |
| Location | Lyon County, Nevada |
| Latitude, Longitude | 39.2946400, -119.2515470 |
| GNIS | 856483 |
| Elevation | 5000 feet |
| Alias | Barnett, Barrett, Buckland Ranch, Bucklands, Tolles, Tolles Station, Weeks |
| Pony Express Stop No | 152 |