Cold Springs, Churchill County, Nevada

Cold Springs is an unincorporated community in Churchill County, Nevada, United States.^[1]

Cold Springs
Unincorporated community
Cold Springs, Nevada
Cold Springs Show map of Nevada Cold Springs Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 39°24′43″N 117°50′21″W
Country	United States
State	Nevada
County	Churchill
Elevation	1,696 m (5,565 ft)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	89106
Area code	775
GNIS feature ID	855997[1]

History

Ruins of the Cold Springs Pony Express station built in 1860

Cold Springs, less commonly known as Rock Creek, was established as a station along the Pony Express express mail route in March 1860. In 1861, a repeater which would eventually serve the first transcontinental telegraph was built about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) northwest of the Pony Express station. Later that year in July, a new station serving the Overland Trail commercial and passenger stage line opened just south of the telegraph station, replacing the original Cold Springs station which had been pillaged by Native Americans in May 1860 amidst the Paiute War.^[2][3]

The Pony Express ceased operations on October 26, 1861, and—with the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869—the Overland Trail ceased operations. Both ruins of the Overland Trail station and original Pony Express station were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Cold Springs Station Site on February 23, 1972^[4] and the Cold Springs Pony Express Station Ruins on May 16, 1978^[5] respectively.

Currently, the area just northeast of the stagecoach stations is the site of the Cold Springs Station Resort with a restaurant, bar, gift shop, and lodging accommodations, including a six-room motel, three cabins, and an RV park.^[6] The rest of the community of Cold Springs consists of residences and a Nevada Department of Transportation maintenance depot.

Geography

Cold Springs is located in eastern Churchill County along U.S. Route 50 between the Clan Alpine and Desatoya Mountains. The community is in the ZIP code 89106, addressed to Fallon; the city lies approximately 60 mi (97 km) west via U.S. 50. The nearest city is Austin, approximately 50 mi (80 km) east.^[2]