Towns, Cities and Churches

If you have any information on towns, schools, post offices, historical churches, founding fathers, location, history, etc., please submit the information to me for inclusion on this site.

Cities and Towns within Lyon County NV

Artesia, Buckland's Station, Cambridge, Carson River Canyon Mills, Clear Creek Station, Colony, Como, Curry's, Dayton, Desert Station, Dessert Well Station, Elbow, Empire City, Fort Churchill, Gregory's Mill, Hinds' Hot Springs, Honey Lake Smith's, Hudson, Fernley, Johntown, Ludwig, Mason, Mound House, Nordyke, Palmyra, Pine Grove, Ramsey, Reed's Station, Rockland, Silver Springs, Smith, Stockton Well, Summit Station, Sutro, Sweetwater ("Wahappa"), Swift's, Talapoosa, Thompson, Wabuska, Walker River Station, Weed Heights, Wellington, Wiley's Station and Yerington. (Yerington was also known as Pizen Switch and Greenville at one time). Yerington is the county seat of Lyon Co. and was named for Henry Marvin Yerington, railroad superintendent.

V & T Train Derailment

Fort Churchill, Nevada, 1946.

Built in 1860 during the Pyramid Lake War, Fort Churchill was placed along the Pony Express route to protect settlers moving west and to help manage growing tensions in the region. The fort was named for General Sylvester Churchill and served as a military presence during a difficult and uncertain period in Nevada’s early history.

For more than ten years, soldiers stationed here lived and worked at the edge of the frontier, dealing with isolation, conflict, and the realities of life far from established towns. By 1869, the fort was no longer needed and was officially closed. Left behind, the buildings slowly gave way to weather and time. This 1946 photograph shows the fort long after the last troops departed, quiet and empty.

Today, the site can be visited at Fort Churchill State Historic Park

Image courtesy of the Pomona Public Library Archives.