Sand Springs Pony Express Station was built in 1860 by Bolivar Roberts and J.G. Kelly. James McNaughton was the first station keeper until he became a rider.
The Pony Express route was 1800 miles from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. The route took 10 days one way. Riders would cover 75 to 100 miles a day. They changed horses every 10 to 15 miles at remount stations.
Sand Station was constructed with volcanic rock. It consisted of a small living quarters, tack room, stables and corrals.
Famed British explorer, writer and world traveler Sir Richard Burton visited many of the Pony Express stations during their operation. He did not remember Sand Springs Station fondly:
“The station house was no unfit object on such a scene, roofless and chairless, filthy and squalid, with a smokey fire in one corner.”
Sir Richard Burton, October 17, 1860
Sir Richard Burton was not favorably impressed with the spring at Sand Station.
(Photo credit: Britannica)
“The water near this vile hole was thick and stale with sulfury salt; it blistered even the hands.”
Sir Richard Burton, October 17, 1860
The Pony Express made it’s final ride in October of 1861. Sand Springs Station was used as part of the Fort Churchill and Sand Springs Toll Road which opened in 1866. Eventually the roads moved and structures were abandoned. The shifting sands buried the structure for over 100 years.
For the 43 Pony Express Stations in Nevada, most physical evidence has faded into the desert. This seemed to be true for Sand Springs Station. But in 1977 a team of archaeologists from University of Nevada, Reno located and excavated the station. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
I visited Sand Springs Station with my friend Robin. We also stopped at Grimes Point Petroglyphs, Hidden Cave, Fairview and “No Where Nevada”. It would also make a nice Pony Express day combined with Buckland’s Station, Hooten Well, Desert Station and Fort Churchill.
Visited 2-29-2020
References
- All Around Nevada: Sand Springs Pony Express Station
- Britanica: Sir Richard Burton
- Di Certo, Joseph J. The Saga of the Pony Express. Mountain Press Publishing, 2017. Pages 141, 142, 178, 181.
- Forgotten Nevada: Sand Springs
- Hill, William. The Pony Express Trail: Yesterday and Today. Caxton Press, 2010. Pages 228-235.
- Nevada Bureau of Land Management. The Pony Express in Nevada. Nevada State Museum, 1996. Page 18.
- Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. Nevada Publications, 1970. Page 93-95.
- Travel Nevada: Unearthing Pony Express Route History at Sand Springs Station
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