Pritchard’s Station

Pritchard’s Station was a stop on the toll road between Eureka, Tybo, and Belmont from the 1870s to 1880s. Pritchard started as a 49er and became one of the largest freighters in the country. He built toll roads and stations in Nevada, including the beautiful stagehouse named for him.

Eureka, Tybo, & Belmont Toll Road

In 1874 a toll road was built for the Tybo company, T.J. Bell & Company, by Mr. Cooper. The road was built for passengers and mail – not freight – much to the dismay of Belmont merchants who hoped to sell goods to the new town of Tybo. In later years, Bell contracted to transport charcoal freight from the kilns around Tybo.

The mainline of the toll road ran from Hot Creek to Moores Station, north to Hick’s Station and Snowball, then followed Smoky and Fish Creek Valleys to Eureka. Toll rates were $0.60 for a horse and rider, $2 for a wagon and one horse, and $2.50 for a wagon and two horses.

Pritchard’s Station

William Lewis Pritchard, “Nick of the Woods,” started as a 49er in the California Gold County. In the 1850s he began a freighting business in Sacramento with a mustang and two mules. Over the next decade, his business grew and he became one of the largest freighters in the country. Between 1867 and 1869 Pritchard played a crucial role in the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad, hauling supplies over the Sierras to Nevada and Utah.

Following the completion of the railroad, Pritchard turned his eyes east and began hauling supplies in Central Nevada. By 1870 his company possessed over 500 coaches and wagons, 2000 horses and mules.

Pritchard developed an alternate route between Hot Creek and Eureka. At Moores Station, Pritchard’s road headed east over Summit Station where it continued to Duckwater and Hamilton. Along the route, he built several station stops, including Pritchard Station.

Prichardt (sic) & Co. have filed a declaration for a toll road down the valley from the Pioche and Eureka Road, and will shortly commence its construction.

Belmont Courier, February 14, 1874

The toll road and station were active between the 1870s and 1880s. On February 5, 1874, Pritchard Station was awarded a post office, with Kath Shoop as postmaster. The post office was rescinded on April 14th, possibly before service began.

On June 5, 1874, a fire started at Pritchard’s Station. The station survived but the stable, tack and thirty-four mules were burned. Losses were estimated at $11,000, almost $300,000 in 2022 value.

Ruins

The beautiful station house at Pritchard’s has survived almost 150 years, a testament to the quality construction. I have been told the owners of Hot Creek may refurbish the station, adding it to their hotel accommodations.

Pritchard’s Station House

Pritchard’s Station Cistern

Pritchards Station Corrals

Ghost Towning

Pritchard’s Station was one of my favorite stops on an amazing week of ghost towing based in Tybo with my friend Bo, the “Curmudgeon of Tybo.” Don’t let the name fool you, Bo is one of my favorite people.

That day we visited the Tybo store, Tybo cemetery, Hot Creek Indian Cabins, Civil War Veteran grave, Six-mile kilns, Project Faultless (a 1968 underground nuclear explosion), petroglyphs, Moores Station, Tybo toll road, Prichard’s Station, and back to Tybo for the Tybo Mill and 2G mine. Plus two private ranches. Whew, what a day!

Want more ghost towns?

For information on more than three hundred ghost towns in Nevada, visit the Nevada Ghost Towns Map or a list of Nevada ghost towns.

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References

• Carlson, Helen S. Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary. University of Nevada Press, 1974. Page 194.
• Coyote Stuff: From Tybo to Treasure City
• Gamett, James and Stan Paher.  Nevada Post Offices: An Illustrated History.  Nevada Publications, 1983  Page 107.
• Hall, Shawn. Preserving the Glory Days: Ghost towns and mining camps of Nye County, Nevada. University of Nevada Press. 1981. Pages 97, 108.
• Paher, Stanley.  Nevada Ghost Towns and Desert Atlas.  Nevada Publications, 2009.  Page 170, 175.
• McCracken, Robert D., and Jeanne Sharp-Howerton. Tybo, Nevada: Gem of the sagebrush frontier and other settlements in Hot Creek Valley. Central Nevada Historical Society, 2016. Pages 147-151, 154-156.
• Raines Market

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