Schellbourne

Few spots carry as many lives as Schellbourne. A Shoshone village site first, it became an overland stage and mail station in 1859, a Pony Express stop in 1860, and a telegraph relay in 1863 — all on the same ground, with troops posted nearby to guard the rush to Virginia City. Then silver turned up in the hills to the east, and for a decade Schellbourne was a mining camp of five hundred, until the ore ran out in the 1880s. "Uncle Billy" Burke bought the whole valley for a ranch, and a ranch it has stayed.

What the plaque says

Schellbourne, in the foothills of the Schell Creek Range, was a Shoshone village site long before it began its recent historic career in 1859. Captain James Simpson passed through the site and this point, looking for a short route across the Great Basin. That same year an overland stage and mail station was built at Schellbourne. In 1860, the Pony Express Company used the same facilities, and when the telegraph arrived in 1863, it passed over this same route. During the rush to Virginia City mines in 1859 and 1860, it became necessary for the army to send troops to this point to protect the personnel of that western pilgrimage. Silver ore was discovered in the mountains immediately to the east of Schellbourne in the early 1870's, and it became part of the Aurum Mining District in 1871. An active mining camp developed, with a population of over 500 persons. By 1885, the ore had been mostly depleted and the camp abandoned. The district and adjacent valley were then acquired by "Uncle Billy" Burke as a ranch. Schellbourne has operated as the headquarters for various ranches since that time.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Cherry Creek — 11 mi