Last updated: June 8, 2026
Place
Schell Creek Station
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
Turnout on east side of US-93, at intersection with White Alpine Co Rd 18, west of unincorporated Schellbourne, Nevada. GPS 39.797333 -114.741120.
Significance:
This US-93 turnout on the Pony Express National Historic Trail is near the historical site of Schell Creek Pony Express Station (1860-1861) in White Pine County, Nevada. The historical station site is on private property several miles east of the highway.
Designation:
Historic Site on the Pony Express NHT.
Amenities
10 listed
Cellular Signal, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information Kiosk/Bulletin Board, Parking - Auto, Parking - Bus/RV, Picnic Shelter/Pavilion, Picnic Table, Restroom, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Trash/Litter Receptacles
An interpretive turnout on US-93 at Shellbourne, White Pine County, Nevada, sits near the historic location of Schell Creek Pony Express Station. From the parking area, visitors can follow a short path to a larger-than-life silhouette cutout of a Pony Express rider on a galloping horse. Wayside exhibits along the path share information about Pony Express history, horses, and riders, and a nearby kiosk offers additional details about the Pony Express, the Goshute Nation, and the Lincoln Highway.
Schell Creek Station (also known as Schellbourne) stood in a canyon about 3 miles east of this turnout, its construction displacing a Shoshone village. During the Pyramid Lake War of 1860, the isolated outpost was frequently targeted by Northern Paiute and Goshute Shoshone seeking food and horses. In a raid that summer, attackers burned the station, drove off its livestock, and reportedly killed 3 employees in retaliation for an earlier fight at nearby Egan Canyon Station.
When Sir Richard Burton traveled by stagecoach through Schell Creek on Oct. 4, 1860, he found a small a “log-hut” serving as the station. Its walls were pocked with bullet holes, and Burton judged the cramped shelter a “filthy hole,” “full of flies” despite cold weather.
After Pony Express operations shut down, the Overland Stage & Mail company used Schell Creek Station as its Nevada District headquarters—its largest facility between Salt Lake City and the Comstock—during 1862-1863. The company continued to occupy the station until 1869.
Site Information
Location (Turnout on east side of US-93, at intersection with White Alpine Co Rd. 18, west of unincorporated Schellbourne, Nevada. GPS 39.797333, -114.741120.)