Fort Churchill State Historic Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, preserving the remains of a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

fort and a waystation on the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pik ...

and

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

s dating back to the 1860s. The site is one end of the historic

Fort Churchill and Sand Springs Toll Road Fort Churchill and Sand Springs Toll Road was opened in 1866. A segment of the toll road within Churchill County, Nevada, Churchill County, Nevada is listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 24, 1974. This segment allowed a ...

. The park is in Lyon County south of the town of Silver Springs, on U.S. Route 95 Alternate, south of

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

. Fort Churchill was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1961. A 1994 park addition forms a corridor along the

Carson River The Carson River is a northwestern List of Nevada rivers, Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long although the addition of the East Fork makes the total length , traversing five co ...

Fort Churchill

Fort history

In 1860 a band of

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Pai ...

s and

Bannock Bannock may mean: * Bannock (food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle * Bannock (Indigenous American), various types of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying * Bannock people, a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon ...

s attacked Williams Station along the Carson River in retaliation for the kidnap and rape of two young Paiute girls by the proprietors of the station. In retaliation a small group of volunteer soldiers and vigilantes led by Maj.

William Ormsby William Matthew Ormsby (1814 – May 12, 1860) was an early settler of Nevada who was instrumental in the establishment of Carson City and the Nevada Territory. Major Ormsby was killed leading a Militia force against Paiute Indians in what was ...

attacked the Native Americans, starting the so-called

Pyramid Lake War A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

. Ormsby's force was defeated and in response Colonel John C. Hays and Captain Joseph Stewart led a larger force of volunteers and U.S. Regulars to defeat the Natives at the

Second Battle of Pyramid Lake The Second Battle of Pyramid Lake (also known as the Battle of Truckee River) took place in response to the U.S. defeat at the First Battle of Pyramid Lake. A well-organized force of militia and regulars, under the capable leadership of famed Texa ...

. Captain Stewart, leading the Regular contingent, afterward established a permanent U.S. Army

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

along the Carson River near the location of where the hostilities began at Williams Station. The post was named Fort Churchill for

Sylvester Churchill Sylvester Churchill (August 2, 1783 – December 7, 1862) was an American journalist and Regular Army officer. Early life Churchill was born in Woodstock, Vermont, the son of Joseph and Sarah (Cobb) Churchill. Educated in the schools of his hom ...

, Inspector General of the U.S. Army. Construction on the fort began on July 20, 1860 and was completed in 1861. Built to provide protection for early settlers and the mail route along the Pony Express, the fort became an important supply depot for the Union Army during the American Civil War. Average strength during this time was 200 soldiers, but the post was abandoned in 1869, four years after the conclusion of the Civil War. The abandoned buildings were sold at an auction for $750 after the state of Nevada declined to take possession of the property.

State park

On October 6, 1932, the state took control of the but two years later deeded the property to a local chapter of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

. With aid from the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, the fort ruins were partially restored to a state of arrested decay, and the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

built the current visitor center. In 1957, the fort became a part of Nevada's state park system. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1966.

Carson River Ranches

In 1994, the state park service acquired along the Carson River, east of the fort and Buckland Station. This corridor connects Fort Churchill with

Lahontan State Recreation Area Lahontan State Recreation Area is a public recreation area surrounding Lake Lahontan, a impoundment of the Carson River, located approximately west of Fallon, Nevada. The reservoir features of shoreline and of water when full. Much of the p ...

and provides habitat for diverse plants and wildlife. It is popular with campers, hikers, birdwatchers, canoeists, hunters and equestrians.

Buckland Station

Samuel S. Buckland came to the area in 1859 to begin ranching. His ranch served as an important way station along the Central Overland Route. The Pony Express also had a change of mounts at the ranch. When Fort Churchill was abandoned and being dismantled, Buckland salvaged materials to build the current two-story building seen today. The state park added this building to the Fort Churchill State Historic Site in 1997.

Park facilities

The visitor center has exhibits on the history of Fort Churchill, Native Americans that inhabited the area, and natural features of the surrounding countryside. A 20-site campground is situated along the Carson River within a grove of cottonwood trees with an adjacent group-camp and day-use picnic areas. A primitive camp lies further along the Carson River in the Carson River Ranches unit. Hiking trails include a self-guided trail around the fort ruins with interpretative signs explaining each of the buildings. The Orchard Trail runs along the Carson River from the campground to Buckland Station. A continuation of this trail runs the length of the Carson River in the Carson River Ranches unit. The

Nevada Civil War Volunteers Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, t ...

have put on a civil war encampment at Fort Churchill.

References

External links

Fort Churchill State Historic Park
Nevada State Parks * {{authority control State parks of Nevada Protected areas of Lyon County, Nevada

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

Military and war museums in Nevada Museums in Lyon County, Nevada Nevada in the American Civil War Formerly Used Defense Sites in Nevada Ruins in the United States Pony Express stations Snake War

National Historic Landmarks in Nevada National Register of Historic Places in Lyon County, Nevada Civilian Conservation Corps in Nevada Protected areas established in 1957 1860 establishments in Utah Territory 1957 establishments in Nevada Historic American Buildings Survey in Nevada