SILVER SPRINGS, Nev. (KOLO) – He may have been a year too late to technically be known as a 49er, but in 1850, decided to try his luck at gold mining in California.
But after 7 years, Samuel Buckland failed to strike it rich.
“He eventually acquired 1700 acres of land along the Carson River,” explained Fort Churchill Park Interpreter Kristin Sanderson. “His primary was cattle ranching.”
Buckland Station was the former county seat of Churchill County, pony express stop, and a place for travelers to California to stop along their journey.
“He strategically placed the ranch at the junction of two major wagon routes,” Sanderson added. “He was capitalizing on all of that traffic.”
The traffic came through the area in part because of the Carson River, which runs right by the property located 8 miles south of Silver Springs along U.S. 95 alternate.
Buckland would eventually go on to purchase nearby Fort Churchill for $750. Many of the materials used in the home that still stands today were removed from the old adobe buildings of the fort.
Inside the home a parlor, sitting room, and downstairs bedroom are still set up to look as they would have in the time the Buckland’s lived in the home. But by the time the house was finished in 1870, it was no longer needed to do what it was built for, as the flow of travelers to the area declined dramatically.
Buckland Station would change hands about a dozen times after the Buckland’s died in 1884. It was ultimately taken over by Nevada state parks in 1995.
If you want to visit stop by Saturday or Sunday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
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