Eightmile is a locale on the Goshute Indian Reservation in

White Pine County, Nevada White Pine County is a largely rural, mountain County (United States), county along the central eastern boundary of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 9,080. Its county seat is Ely, ...

. It is located along

Spring Creek A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground Spring (hydrology), spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring cree ...

History

Eightmile was originally the location of Eight Mile Station, a station on the route of the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. During its 18 months of opera ...

. It was later a

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

station along the

Central Overland Route The Central Overland Route (also known as the "Central Overland Trail", "Central Route", "Redden's Way", "Simpson's Route", or the "Egan Trail") was a transportation route from Salt Lake City, Utah south of the Great Salt Lake through the mounta ...

across the territory and then the state of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. On March 23, 1863, the Goshutes, led by White Horse, burned the station and killed the keeper, which started the Overland or Goshute War. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and during the

Snake War The Snake War (1864–1868) was an Irregular warfare, irregular war fought by the United States of America against the "Snake Indians," the Exonym, settlers' term for Northern Paiute, Bannock (tribe), Bannock and Western Shoshone bands who liv ...

, this station was also frequently occupied by Union Army troops and later U. S. Army regulars from Fort Ruby, it was one of several outposts used to defend and keep open this transportation route that linked the western states and territories to the eastern part of the country before the completion of the construction of the

transcontinental railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous rail transport, railroad trackage that crosses a continent, continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via the Ra ...

in 1869. A sheep ranch was established in the 1900s. The

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...

passed through Eightmile on its route from

Ibapah, Utah Ibapah ( ) is a small unincorporated community in far western Tooele County, Utah, United States, near the Nevada state line. Description The settlement is located near the Deep Creek Mountains. The site was originally established in 1859 b ...

to Ely, Nevada. In 1938, the land was bought by the U.S. Government for the use of the Goshutes. The site of the Georgetta Ranch, also referred to as Eightmile, is located nearby.

Today

The site of Eightmile now appears to be the location of a private residence. Pony Express Map William Henry Jackson

References

{{White Pine County, Nevada Ghost towns in White Pine County, Nevada Pony Express stations Goshute