Home » History » The Old West » Fort Churchill, Nevada (Part 1)

Fort Churchill, Nevada (Part 1)

© Elizabeth Gibson

Fort Churchill, Nevada, is considered the state's first, largest, and most elaborate military outpost. The fort, about 20 miles east of modern-day Dayton, existed from July 1860 through 1869. The soldiers protected mining camps in California and emigrants and other travelers from the Washoe, Paiute, and Shoshone Indians in the area. The silver and gold mining led to increased settlement in the area, which could only have the result of a conflict.

In the late Spring of 1859, small incidents began to occur with Indians. The straw that broke the camel's back was when Indians killed some prospectors near Black Rock. Two were killed and another escaped to tell about the incident. During the summer of 1859 several immigrant parties were attacked and about a dozen men killed.

Then, the winter of 1859 were very severe. The Indians suffered from hunger and cold. White people helped build fires and offered bread and other provisions, but sometimes the Indians refused the food, fearing it was poisoned. The Indians attributed the harsh winter to the whites, believing they had angered the gods by their misuse of the land. They Indians were driven by fear and desperation. In 1860 a rancher was found dead and the Indians were blamed. The Indians refused to give up the guilty party. Local officials asked the Army to provide a company to protect them from the Indians. At first their request was denied because soldiers could not get across the Sierra Mountains and, anyway, there were none to spare.

Then came the Battle of Pyramid Lake in 1860. The event that triggered the battle, was when three men were killed at the Williams Pony Express station. Major Ormsby and 105 volunteers chased the Indians. But the Indians were well prepared and knew the terrain much better. The soldiers lost 76 men.

The army finally agreed that a military post was necessary. Captain Joseph Stewart was tasked to find a suitable location. He picked a spot on the Carson River about 25 miles east of Virginia City. There was already a pony express station house there built by Sam Buckland at which he sold supplies, hot meals, and whiskey. The fort would be named in honor of General Sylvester Churchill. The total cost of the fort was approximately $180,000.

Of this entire area of the fort was 1,384 acres on the north bank of the Carson River. The first soldiers arrived on July 23, 1860. They started building the fort immediately. They first built a blacksmith shop, dragoon and quartermaster stables, and other buildings made out of adobe. The army hired 40 civilians for laying foundation and hauling stone and other materials. Good progress on construction was handicapped by a lack of labor. The army often had to rely on passing emigrants to help them. There was also a shortage of material and it was a long haul for anything to be brought to the fort. Mules brought lumber from the Sierra, hardware and windows, etc., had to be freighted from Virginia City, Carson City, and sometimes Sacramento.

The copyright of the article Fort Churchill, Nevada (Part 1) in The Old West is owned by . Permission to republish Fort Churchill, Nevada (Part 1) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.