SCHELLBOURNE (FORT) -
Fort Schellbourne is
located south of the Cherry Creek road at the junction of US 93 and
C. R. 2, then 3 miles east; 39 miles north of Ely in Steptoe
Valley. Named for Major A. J. Schell, a commander of the troops
guarding the Mail line. It has a long history of Indian fighting,
and first served as George Chorpenning's Jackass Mail and later as
the Schell
Creek Pony Express and Overland Stage Station; later as a fort
for the US troops. Then, it served as a mining camp during the
1870's.
The Schell Creek Station and corral
was built by the Pony Express in the Spring of 1860. The
Overland Stage Line also used the Schell Creek station for stock
exchange and an inn for travelers until 1869.
Nearby "pay-dirt" discoveries led to
the formation of a mining camp in 1871. By December of
that year a post office was established for Schellbourne. The
Schell Creek Prospect newspaper published a weekly edition
by July of 1972 for the 300 residents. A Wells Fargo building
or bank was erected with heavy steel doors which are still on the
old building. Jerry
Bowen's Schellbourne, NV pictures.
Photo
Courtesy of Sunny Martin
Better ore discoveries were made
across the valley at Cherry Creek in late 1872, and the majority of
people headed over there. Mining machinery and many buildings
were quickly moved to Cherry Creek. During the decade, a
five-stamp mill was built, but population had declined by 1880 to
only 50 people.
Schellbourne now serves as the
headquarters for a ranch. The owners have razed most of the old
buildings that once stood on this site to the dismay of local
historians.
One of two small cemeteries lies near
the stone and log ruins of the town in Lot 9 Section 7, T22N R65E
and is a Historical Monument under the Recreation and Public
Purposes Act.
Schellbourne Ranch, White
Pine County, Nevada (near Cherry Creek)
(Schellbourne is a ghost
town on private property, but a few buildings remain in various
states of disrepair. Permission is required to visit the site. The
cemetery
a short distance to the east of the buildings, has at least 6
graves. The three Burke markers on the right are made of cut steel
wagon wheel sections riveted together in the shape of crosses. Three
other graves to the left are marked by illegible wooden crosses.) The
cemetery page has pictures.