Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Path at Camp Coxcomb.
Desert Training Center
The mosaics give the cathedral a resemblance to Byzantine/Orthodox architecture.
Porta Coeli Cathedral
Gashouder Westergas.
Westergasfabriek
Wulixue Irrigation Canal
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Kolaches
How Texas Became an Unlikely Epicenter for Czech Pastries
What I Found Driving Across Northern Michigan
What I Found Driving Down Highway 61
What I Found Driving Through Appalachia

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Nevada Fort Churchill
AO Edited

Fort Churchill

The ruins of a military outpost from the 1860s form the centerpiece of a Nevada state park.

Silver Springs, Nevada

Added By
slgwv
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
View of Ft. Churchill, looking northwest from the Visitor Center.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
View of Ft. Churchill, looking west from the Visitor Center.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Officers’ quarters at Ft. Churchill.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Barracks at Ft. Churchill.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Barracks at Ft. Churchill.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Barracks at Ft. Churchill.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Unrestored ruin of barracks at Ft. Churchill. Not much is left!   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Barracks on the east side of Ft. Churchill.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The guardhouse at Ft. Churchill.,   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The laundresses’ quarters at Ft. Churchill. The officers couldn’t do without laundry service!   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The laundresses’ quarters at Ft. Churchill. The officers couldn’t do without laundry service!   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
View of Ft. Churchill, to the northwest.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Post headquarters at Ft. Churchill.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
3-inch cannon at the Visitor Center, Ft. Churchill.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
In the museum at the Visitor Center, Ft. Churchill.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
In the museum at the Visitor Center, Ft. Churchill.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Display as Ft. Churchill might have looked in operation.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
In the museum at the Visitor Center, Ft. Churchill.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Buckland Station   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Household display in Buckland Station.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Household display in Buckland Station.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Household display in Buckland Station.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Household display in Buckland Station   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Bridge over water camping area   Mrsicee600 / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

When Fort Churchill was constructed alongside the Carson River and on the Pony Express route in 1861, it was meant to serve multiple purposes. First, to intimidate local Confederate sympathizers; and second, to intimidate the local Paiutes.

The fort was constructed of adobe, with bricks made from local mud, and with sparing use of timber for roof beams and lintels. (Timber had to be brought in from the Carson Range some 30-35 miles west.) The post, although very remote at the time, at least kept those stationed there out of Civil War battlefields. It served its purpose and was decommissioned just nine years later, in 1870.

A local rancher, Samuel Buckland, bought the fort for the then-princely sum of $750 and salvaged the timbers to build a new ranch house on the Carson River, now called Buckland Station. It also is now included in the state park and has interior displays of furnishings such as the Bucklands may have used in the 19th century. A trail along the Carson River, a bit more than a mile long, runs between Buckland Station and Fort Churchill. The trail also continues downstream below Buckland Station to finally connect to the Lahontan State Recreation area. This is also part of the state park and open to the public.

The adobe bricks were just left behind when Buckland removed the timbers, and they rapidly settled into heaps of mud. The present "ruins" are actually 1930s reconstructions by the Civilian Conservation Corps. A number of buildings were not restored, and now are hardly obvious as ruins.

Related Tags

Ruins Civil War State Parks Forts

Know Before You Go

Fort Churchill is just west of US-95A between Silver Springs and Yerington and is reached by a well-marked turnoff from the highway onto a paved road. Buckland Station is where the highway crosses the Carson River, on the north side of the river and east of the highway.

Community Contributors

Added By

slgwv

Edited By

Mrsicee600

  • Mrsicee600

Published

April 15, 2022

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Fort Churchill
10000 US-95 ALT
Silver Springs, Nevada, 89429
United States
39.294404, -119.267695
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Thompson Smelter

Lux, Nevada

miles away

The Republic of Molossia

Dayton, Nevada

miles away

Lahontan Dam and the Newlands Project

Fallon, Nevada

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Nevada

Nevada

United States

Places 265
Stories 24

Nearby Places

Thompson Smelter

Lux, Nevada

miles away

The Republic of Molossia

Dayton, Nevada

miles away

Lahontan Dam and the Newlands Project

Fallon, Nevada

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Nevada

Nevada

United States

Places 265
Stories 24

Related Places

  • The African Cemetery at Higgs Beach, Key West.

    Key West, Florida

    African Cemetery at Higgs Beach

    Near the ruins of a Civil War coastal fortress lies the only known African refugee cemetery in the United States.

  • Lisnagrave, Ireland

    Dunlough Castle

    The eerie remains of one of Ireland's oldest castles, said to be haunted by the ghost of a woman who brings ill fate.

  • The lookout tower at Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park is a popular vantage point.

    Hillsboro, West Virginia

    Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park

    West Virginia’s first state park commemorates one of the state’s last significant Civil War battles.

  • Red-stone castle ruins sit atop a green hill

    Allinge, Denmark

    Hammershus Castle Ruins

    Northern Europe’s largest castle ruins sit precariously on an island cliffside.

  • Spakenes kystfort

    Rotsund, Norway

    Spåkenes Coastal Fort

    The gnarled remains of an exploded German bunker from World War II sit along a breathtaking fjord.

  • Fort Stevens

    Washington, D.C.

    Fort Stevens

    This American Civil War-era fort still stands near the border between Washington, D.C. and Maryland.

  • Fernandina Beach, Florida

    Fort Clinch

    Used as a military post in three different engagements, this fort has remained incomplete and unfired upon for nearly 200 years.

  • Entrance to replica of early 1840s stockade.

    Fort Bridger, Wyoming

    Fort Bridger

    Named for a prominent scout and explorer, this Wyoming state park encompasses a replica of an 1840s trading post, a 19th-century Army outpost, and early 20th-century automobile lodgings.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.