Fort Schellbourne (White Pine County, Nevada)
White Pine County · Nevada · Indian Wars
History & Significance
The location was once a Shoshone Indian village. It became an Overland Stage and Mail stop in 1859, and a Pony Express station in 1860 as Schell Creek station.
In June 1860, after raiding Paiute Indians killed the stationmaster and two attendants, the Army established a post later named Fort Schellbourne for its founding commander, Major A.J. Schell. The military post protected the stage line during conflicts between whites and the Newe (Goshute and Western Shoshone) Indians until its abandonment in 1862.
The post occupied a critical position along the Central Overland Route, serving overland mail and Pony Express operations during a period of heightened frontier tensions. When the Overland stopped running in 1869, the fort earned a reprieve when prospector James McMahon discovered silver here in early 1871, with assay results sufficiently rich to merit growth of the town.
At its peak, the mining camp's population approached 400. Discovery of a more viable silver deposit in Cherry Creek, five miles across Steptoe Valley, prompted a mass exodus, as Schellbourne's miners, stamp mill, equipment and buildings all uprooted and relocated at the new strike site. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
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Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schellbourne,_Nevada
- https://shpo.nv.gov/nevadas-historical-markers/historical-markers/schellbourne
- https://historynet.com/ghost-towns-schellbourne-nevada/
- https://usgenwebsites.org/NVWhitePine/towns/schellbourne.html