Last updated: June 8, 2026
Place
Spring Valley Station
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
South of intersection of Whiskey Rd and White Pine County Road 31, White Pine County, Nevada, GPS marker 39.7799166667, -114.5403888889.
Significance:
Spring Valley Station served the Pony Express (1860-181). It is the site where rider Nick Wilson later described being shot in the head by an arrow during the 1860 Pyramid Lake War.
Designation:
Historic Site on the Pony Express NHT.
OPEN TO PUBLIC:
No
MANAGED BY:
Private
Amenities
2 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot
Information about the Spring Valley Pony Express Station in Nevada is scattered, vague, and sometimes contradictory. Some researchers place the station just west of the Antelope Range in White Pine County, but its precise location is hard to pin down. Researcher Joe Nardone installed a Pony Express station marker along a fenceline south of the intersection of Whiskey Rd and White Pine County Rd 31, near a location called Stonehouse, to indicate its likely vicinity. This area lies on the west side of the Antelope Range, at the mouth of Mud Springs Draw.
Nardone determined that the Pony Express built Spring Valley Station in July 1861 and used it for just one trip as the operation was winding down. However, Pony rider Nick Wilson recalled that he nearly died there while conducting Pony Express business during the 1860 Pyramid Lake War. Perhaps he was recalling events of 1861 – or they occurred at a different station?
Wilson was just 18 years old when he joined the Pony Express and began riding his relay between Ruby Valley, Nevada, and Deep Creek Station, Utah, in 1860. In memoirs written late in life, Wilson described riding back to his western home station after delivering horses to Antelope Springs. Along the way, he stopped to share a meal with 2 boys tending the Spring Valley Station.
While they were eating, Wilson spotted pair of Native men quietly herding away their horses. When he gave chase, one of the men shot a flint-tipped arrow into Wilson’s face above his left eye.
The station tenders found him unconscious but still breathing. As they tried to remove the arrow, the shaft broke, leaving the arrowhead embedded in Wilson’s skull. Believing him near death, they rolled the unfortunate rider beneath a tree and ran for help, returning the next morning with a burial party.
To their astonishment, Wilson was still alive. They managed to get him to a doctor. The physician could do little for him, who could do little form him. After lying in a coma for 18 days, Wilson began to recover. He wore his hat low on his forehead for the rest of his life to cover the dent in his skull. The injury plagued him with headaches for the rest of his life, but it didn’t end his service. Wilson continued riding for the Pony Express until it closed in October 1861.
The Overland Stage used Spring Valley Station from 1861 through 1868 or 1869. Some researchers believe a historic stone house north of Nardone’s Pony Express marker may have served as a stage station, but it has no known connection to the Pony Express.
Site Information
Location (South of intersection of Whiskey Rd and White Pine County Road 31, White Pine County, Nevada, GPS marker 39.7799166667, -114.5403888889.)