Tag: Nevada State Historic Markers

Nevada State Historic Markers are a series of plaques and monuments that commemorate significant sites, events, and individuals in the history of Nevada. These markers, scattered throughout the state, provide educational insights into Nevada’s rich and diverse heritage, from its Native American origins and the era of westward expansion to the development of mining towns and modern-day landmarks. Each marker offers a glimpse into the past, detailing historical narratives and cultural milestones that have shaped Nevada’s identity. They serve as accessible, public resources for residents and visitors alike, fostering an appreciation for the state’s historical journey and its contributions to the broader tapestry of American history.

Buckland’s Station

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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.

Buckland Station early 1900s
Buckland Station early 1900s

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

Buckland Station Location Summary

NameBuckland’s Station
LocationLyon County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude39.2946400, -119.2515470
GNIS856483
Elevation5000 feet
AliasBarnett, Barrett, Buckland Ranch, Bucklands, Tolles, Tolles Station, Weeks
Pony Express Stop No152

Buckland’s Station Trail Map

References

Ruby Valley Station

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The Ruby Valley Station was started in 1859 as part of George Chorpenning’s mail route. Later the station served the Pony Express and Overland Mail Company line in White Pine County, Nevada. The station was managed by William “Uncle Billy” Rogers and Frederick William Hurst.

Ruby Valley, White Pine County, Nevada - Ruby Valley Pony Express Station - photo taken in 1944
Ruby Valley, White Pine County, Nevada – Ruby Valley Pony Express Station – photo taken in 1944

Richard Burton visited the site on October 7, 1860, Rogers served as stationkeeper. At that time, this station was considered a half-way point between Salt Lake City, Utah and the Carson Valley. Protection from angry Western Shoshone Tribes is provided from Fort Ruby from 1862 – 1869, which is located near by. The station is an extremely small log cabin which is just eleven feet wide and eighteen feet lone.

The area’s rich soil provided excellent opportunities to raise food and hay for the other stations along the route. A band of Shoshone and the army also established camps near the station at various times. Camp Floyd’s Company B of the 4th Artillery Regiment arrived at Ruby Valley in May 1860 to protect the mail route during the Pyramid Lake War and remained there until October. Thereafter, the station’s name appeared on the 1861 mail contract list.

NPS – Pony Express DIVISION FOUR: STATIONS BETWEEN SALT LAKE CITY AND ROBERTS CREEK

The structure is built from vertical logs which form the walls. The walls are topped by smaller logs placed perpendicularly to form a slightly sloped shed roof. The root is originally covered with sod. An exterior stone chimney stands at one end of the cabin. The only opening into the building is the front entrance, centered in the main facade. Pony Express stations consisted of rudimentary cabins for shelter, they were critical to the survival of the route.

For preservation, the Ruby Vally station was physically relocated to the grounds of the Northeastern Nevada Museum in Elko in 1960. The Northeastern Nevada Historical Society donated a brass maker to identify the station site in 1979. 

Ruby Valley Station Map

Station Summary

NameRuby Valley Station
LocationWhite Pine County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude40.04652, -115.4918
GNIS845958
Elevation6030 feet
Pony Express Station No.131

References

Lida Nevada – Esmeralda County Ghost Town

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Now on private property, Lida Nevada is a ghost town and mining camp located in Esmeralda County, Nevada just off State Route 266. The area probably saw it first activity in the 1860’s when Mexican and Native Americans worked the surrounding hills for gold. Their efforts were limited by their ability to extract gold from the ore. In the spring of 1867, American prospects arrived in Lida Valley and took steps to organize a mining district.

Lida Tent City in 1905
Lida Tent City in 1905

The town of Lida Valley was organized and plotted in March 1872. The town experienced an influx people and soon supported common business for these mining towns including a livery, stables, shops, saloons and a Post Office. On March 17, 1873, the United States authorized a post office for the small community. There was some confusion caused by the remote region and the post office was authorized for Inyo County, California. This mistake was corrected the following month. April 31, 1873 saw the newly established post office operating as Lida, Nevada.

Freight was brought into Lida from the nearest rail station in Wadsworth. The supplies were hauled into Lida from Silverpeak using a newly build road for $100 per ton. Ore was processed at one of steam powered mills which were constructed and springs in the area. A five stamp mill and an eight stamp mill processed ore and higher quality ore with value of $500 to $1000 per ton was hauled to Belmont and Austin for processing. In the 1870’s mining declined and by the 1880s Lida only had 10 businesses in operation.

In 1905 the town of Goldfield experienced a gold boom. Lida formed a chamber of commerce to capitalize on the event. The weekly Lida Enterprise was published and stage service to Goldfield was established. The springs near Lida helped supply Goldfield utilizing a newly constructed pipe between the towns. An automobile stage was setup in 1905 to provide service between Lida and Big Pine, California.

Prospecting Parties in Lida, Nevada
Prospecting Parties in Lida, Nevada

Lida prospered for about three years until the camp started to decline once again. Important properties were tied up in litigation which hampered the towns growth. Just prior to World War I, schools, hotels and some ranches found operation until the town languished completed.

Today, Lida is on private property.

Nevada State Historic Marker Text

Known as a contact point for Shoshone and Northern Paiute Indians, Lida Valley was the site of early prospecting in 1860’s.

Later prospectors organized a mining district in 1867 and laid out the town in 1872. Soon stores, shops, stables and a post office were established. Some ore was milled locally, yet high-grade ore ($500-$1,000 per ton) was treated at Austin or Belmont. After 1880 mining declined.

Lida revived and thrived for three years during the Goldfield boom but declined again in 1907. Mining efforts resumed a few years later, and a small community existed here until World War I.

Lida Historical Plaque

Nevada State Historic Marker Summary

NameLida
LocationEsmeralda County, Nevada
Nevada State Historic Marker157
Latitude, Longitude37.4580, -117.4985

Town Summary

NameLida
LocationEsmeralda County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude37.4582807,-117.5068931
Elevation6,810 Feet
GNIS841625
Population300
NewspaperLida Enterprise
Post Office1873 – 1932

Lida Nevada Map

Resources

Gold Point Nevada – Esmeralda County Ghost Town

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Founded in 1860s, Gold Point, is a ghost time and silver mining camp located in Esmerelda County, Nevada. The townsite was known by three different names, depending upon the ore being actively mined at the time. Lime deposits in 1868 saw the formation of the town “Lime Point”. The ore was hauled to nearby Lida for processing.

Hornsilver / Gold Point Nevada in 1908
Hornsilver / Gold Point Nevada in 1908

Operations were stopped in 1882 when the huge processing costs, inefficient milling and the distance to the railroads were the contributing factors. The growth of Tonapah gave the area better facilities for ore processing. In 1903 and 1904 a rush in Goldfield virtually emptied the district. Interest returned to the district in 1905 when the Great Western Mine opened operations.

In the spring of 1908 the discovery of “hornsilver” silver ore nearby prompted the district to rename to Horn Silver. Rich ore prompted a rush of miners to the district. May 1908, saw the formation of the Hornsilver Herald and a post office followed just a few days later. Immediately plans to bring in railroad server to haul ore were considered. Automobiles were used to provide stage service to Goldfield, Lida and Cuprite for a modest sum.

Hornsilver is the latest wonder in Nevada Mining districts… A comer… Main Street is extending almost as you watch it.

Goldfield Review

The town of Hornsilver boasted 13 saloons, several shops and stores. All in all, some 225 framed buildings, tents and shacks housed the citizens of the little hamlet. The miners followed the ore deep into the ground until 1908 when courts battles brought many operations to a standstill. Milling in the area was still inefficient which cost the mines their profits and unsustainable for a time.

1915 found the returns of large scale mine operations. The Great Western Mine was sold to Charles Stoneham of the New York Giants in 1922. The Great Western Mine was the districts best producer with over $500,000 worth of gold and silver being produced. The District and Town was again renamed to Gold Point in 1930 and operated until 1942 until World War II pulled all essential personnel into war time production.

Owner of the New York Giants baseball team and New York Giants soccer team Charles Stoneham
Owner of the New York Giants baseball team and New York Giants soccer team Charles Stoneham

Today, the town maintains a population of 7 citizens. Manybuildings remain in various states and some of the homes and cabins are available for rental.

Ghost Town Summary

NameGold Point
LocationEsmerelda County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude37.3546518,-117.3738315
GNIS848320
Elevation5,400 feet
Activity1868 – 1880 – Lime Point
1907 – 1927 – Hornsilver
1930 – Gold Point
Post Office1908 –
NewspaperHornsilver Herald

Gold Point Map

Resources

Potosi Nevada – Clark County Ghost Town

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Potosi Nevada is the oldest lode mine in Nevada and the town site is located just off highway 160 between Las Vegas and Pahrump, Nevada.  The site was started in 1856 by some Mormon prospectors who were lead to the location with the help of a Piute guide.  The Mormons found the site in April 1856 and a month latter it was named Potosi after the boyhood home of Nathaniel Jones.  They did not begin mining until August after a return trip to Utah for supplies.  

Potosi mine, south center of sec. 12, T. 23 S., R. 57 E., the mine workings explore a zone at the base of the Yellowpine limestone. Clark County, Nevada. Circa 1921. Plate 33-B in U.S. Geological Survey. Professional paper 162. 1931.
Potosi mine, south center of sec. 12, T. 23 S., R. 57 E., the mine workings explore a zone at the base of the Yellowpine limestone. Clark County, Nevada. Circa 1921. Plate 33-B in U.S. Geological Survey. Professional paper 162. 1931.

By September, the first wagon of ore sent back to Utah for trading and three months later three wagons returned with supplies including bellows, furnace, and hearths among other things.  On Christmas day 1856, an crude adobe furnace was used to smelt ore.

In the spring of 1861, a larger smelter was setup by the Colorado Mining Company at the Potosi Spring.  News of new silver mine spread all over the west in no time.  The town of Potosi was setup 700 feet below of the Potosi Mine or the Las Vegas Silver Mines as they were called and was soon home to 100 miners.

Carol Lombard was killed on a Douglas DC-3, Jan 16, 1942 on Mt Potosi
Carol Lombard was killed on a Douglas DC-3, Jan 16, 1942 on Mt Potosi

The site continued to slowly grow and develop until 1906.  In 1913 the Empire Zinc Company purchased the rights and was soon Potosi was Nevada’s largest producer of Zinc.  After nearly 100 years of production Potosi produced about 4.5 million in lead, silver and zinc.

Potosi is a designated at Nevada State Historic Marker no. 115.

Town Summary

NamePotosi
LocationClark County, Nevada
GNIS849366
Latitude, Longitude35.9708, -115.5408
Elevation5705
Population100

Potosi Trailmap

References