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Stillwater, Nevada

Stillwater, Nevada
Stillwater, Nevada is located in Nevada
Stillwater, Nevada
Stillwater, Nevada
Coordinates: 39°31′18″N 118°32′50″W / 39.52167°N 118.54722°W / 39.52167; -118.54722
Country United States
State Nevada
CountyChurchill

Stillwater is a ghost town in Churchill County, Nevada, United States. From November 8, 1867[1] to January 1, 1904[2], Stillwater served as the county seat of Churchill County until the role was moved to Fallon.

In July 1862, a station of the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company was established in Churchill County. Its name was derived from the Stillwater Slough which was a deep sluggish waterway.[3] Settlers began arriving in the fall of 1862 and the spring of 1863, and the town of Stillwater grew up around the station. On November 7, 1867, following a county vote, Stillwater became the county seat of Churchill County, replacing La Plata, and by May 7, 1868, the county seat post office had been moved there.[1][4] Between 1867 and 1868, Stillwater was its most prosperous, with a population of 150.[5]

On January 1, 1904, following an act by the 21st Nevada Legislature, the county seat and courthouse were moved to Fallon[2] Following the removal of county seat status, the decline of Stillwater was hastened, although the population was listed as 420 as late as 1940.[citation needed] The Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1949.[citation needed] Stillwater was a Pony Express Stop.[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Removal of the County Seat of huchill.[sic]". Daily Territorial Enterprise. November 8, 1867.
  2. ^ a b 21st Nevada Legislature Chap. XXVII.–An Act to remove the county seat of Churchill County from the Town of Stillwater to the Town of Fallon.
  3. ^ Federal Writers' Project (1941). Origin of Place Names: Nevada (PDF). W.P.A. p. 13.
  4. ^ "A New Postoffice Diectory". Carson Daily Appeal. May 7, 1868.
  5. ^ Angel, Myron, ed. (1881). History of Nevada With Illustrations And Biographical Sketches Of Its Prominent Men And Pioneers. Thompson & West, Publishers. p. 364.
  6. ^ William Henry Jackson (1951). "Pony express route April 3, 1860 - October 24, 1861".
  7. ^ "Details of Churchill County". University of Nevada Oral History Program. September 19, 1997. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
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39°31′18″N 118°32′50″W / 39.52167°N 118.54722°W / 39.52167; -118.54722