Submitted by scott on Tue, 07/16/2013 - 11:33

Fort Churchill Station (N39 17 52.1 W119 15 45.8) 

Fort Churchill is a state park located ~8 miles south of Silver Springs on US 95 Alternate. Although Fort Churchill is now in ruins, a visitor center reconstructs its colorful history with interpretive exhibits. The headquarters building, which was a stopping point for the Pony Express, still stands. 

Indians on the warpath and interrupted Pony Express mail service, led to the establishment of Fort Churchill. After the first battle at Pyramid Lake, troops were dispatched from California and following several more battles at Pyramid Lake, Captain Joseph Stewart’s Carson River Expedition was ordered to establish a post. Construction began on July 20, 1860. Built by Captain Stewart and his men, the fort was rhomboid in shape. It occupied 1,384 acres and adjoined Buckland’s Ranch on the banks of the Carson River. It was built as a permanent installation consisting of adobe buildings erected on stone foundations. This U.S. Army outpost served as the largest calvary battalion in the West, and was the main supply depot for all expeditions against the Indians. For several months after October 1860, Fort Churchill was the eastern terminus of telegraphic communication for California. Important dispatches sent from the east by Pony Express were removed from the rider’s pouch and telegraphed to California to speed their delivery, although dispatches were frequently delayed because of downed wires.  http://www.expeditionutah.com/featured-trails/pony-express-trail/nevada-pony-express-stations/ 

FORT CHURCHILL STATION 

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.  http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/poex/hrs/hrs8a.htm#153

Linked Chapters

Marker Category
Pony Express
Geolocation

39.304550170898, -119.25659179688

Geofield
Roughing It

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