Desert Well Station was used as a stage stop on the Overland Mail Company in the early 1860s and as relay station for the Pony Express towards the end of the famous mail delivery service in 1861. Desert Well was west of Nevada and east of Dayton Stations.
Desert Well was expanded and eventually grew to consist of two wells, an inn and corrals. One well was used by camels imported to the Nevada desert to transport salt to mills in Virginia City and Austin. In 1856 the US Army imported camels believing they could carry more than horses or mules.
Camels were used beginning in 1861 to transport salt to mills of the Comstock Lode.
(Photo credit: Online Nevada)
Desert Well Station is best known not for its location, but for famous author Mark Twain’s tale about not being able to locate the station in a snowstorm.
I have scarcely exaggerated a detail of this curious and absurd adventure. It occurred almost exactly as I have stated it.
Mark Twain, Roughing It.
Twain and his companions, Mr. Ollendorff and Mr. Ballou, lost their way during a blinding snow storm. Unable to find Desert Well Station, they decided to camp and start a sagebrush fire for warmth. After failing to light a fire with matches, rubbing sticks together and finally shooting at the kindling in desperation, the trio laid down in the freezing cold to meet their fates. Each promised if they survived the night they would devote their life to service and give up their vices: pipe, whiskey and gambling respectively.
They survived the night and awoke the next morning to find Desert Well Station fifteen paces from their campsite. Their horses had walked to a nearby shed to wait out the storm in comfort. After a warming their bodies and filling their bellies, each sat in contemplation of their reforms. Twain’s resolve broke first and he sneaked off to smoke his pipe. Distraught by his weakness, he re-entered that station, only to find Mr. Ballou playing cards and Ollendorff with a whiskey bottle to his lips!
Desert Well station survived over one-hundred-twenty years. Despite a local historical group’s efforts, in the 1980s the station was demolished by a local citizen who believed it was a safety hazard. Nothing remains today other than a Nevada historical marker.
I visited Desert Well station with Hubby and my friend Steve. We made a loop and visited Susan’s Bluff, Fort Churchill, Buckland’s and Stockton Well.
Visited 2-21-2021
References
- Basso, Dave. Nevada Historical Marker Guidebook. Nevada Publications, 1986. Marker 177.
- Bscottholmes: Desert Wells Station, Nevada: Pony Express
- Di Certo, Joseph J. The Saga of the Pony Express. Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2002 Page 142.
- Historical Marker Database: Desert Well Station
- Mark Twain’s Geography: Desert Wells Station
- National Park Service: Pony Express Historic Resource Study
- National Pony Express Association: Nevada Stations
- National Pony Express Association: Stations
- Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. Nevada Publications, 1970. Page 75.
- Twain, Mark. Roughing It. Seawolf Press, 1872. Pages 182-186.
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