NAMED BY JAMES SIMPSON IN 1850, COMMISSIONED BY THE GOVERNMENT TO DEFINE THE ROUTE WEST, HE IDENTIFIED THE CUTS IN THE MOUNTAINS AS "GATES". THE GOLD RUSH INCREASED TRAFFIC ACROSS THE GREAT DESERT AND IN 1859 THE OVERLAND STAGE BUILT MIDDLEGATE TO SERVICE THE STAGE & FREIGHT LINES TRAVELING ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE PONY EXPRESS USED THE MIDDLEGATE STATION AS A CHANGING STATION DURING THEIR SHORT EIGHTEEN MONTH HISTORY. AT THE END OF THE GOLD RUSH MIDDLEGATE FELL INTO DISUSE AND THE RANCHERS AND MINERS CARRIED OFF MANY OF THE ZEOLITE BLOCKS USED IN THE ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION. IN 1942 IDA FERGUSON BOUGHT THE STATION AT A B.L.M. LAND AUCTION AND STARTED RESTORATION, TEN YEARS LATER SHE OPENED A BAR AND CAFE AND ENJOYED A BUSTLING BUSINESS ON THE HISTORIC LINCOLN HIGHWAY ( FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL HIGHWAY ACROSS AMERICA) BUT IN 1962 THE STATE REROUTED THE THE HIGHWAY AND BUSINESS SUFFERED, LACKING THE FUNDS TO COMPLETE HER DREAMS OF RESTORATION, IDA SOLD MIDDLEGATE AND RETIRED. THE BUSINESS CHANGED HANDS SEVERAL TIMES, THERE WERE NO PHONES, STILL NO ELECTRICITY, AND FIFTY MILES TO TOWN, A PRETTY RUGGED EXISTENCE FOR MOST PEOPLE. THEN IN 1984 THE STEVENSON'S PURCHASED THE PROPERTY AND WITH THE HELP OF CHURCHILL COUNTY AND THE WONDERFUL CREW AT THE MUSEUM, RESTORATION AGAIN RESUMED, IT IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS, THE ARTIFACTS WERE ALL FOUND IN THE AREA, BUT NOTHING IS FOR SALE!

THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY THE FIRST PAVED HIGHWAY ACROSS AMERICA, A DREAM OF BUSINESS MEN SUCH AS CARL FISHER AND HENRY JOY, WHO IMAGINED A PAVED ROAD OVER WHICH MOTORIST COULD DRIVE THEIR NEWFANGLED AUTOMOBILES COAST TO COAST, THEY MAPPED AND BEGAN TO PROMOTE A 3,389 MILE ROUTE IN 1912 BUT MET WITH MUCH OPPOSITION IN SPITE OF THIS THEY PROCURED STATE AND FEDERAL MONEYS AND BEGAN THE PROJECT IN 1913, MONEY, WAR AND HARD TIMES SLOWED PROGRESS AND IN 1925 THE HIGHWAY WAS AT LAST COMPLETED. OFTEN REFEREED TO AS THE EISENHOWER HIGHWAY AS THE GENERAL EXPERIMENTED BRINGING TROOPS, TANKS AND EQUIPMENT OVER THE ROUTE BEFORE MUCH OF IT WAS PAVED. DESIGNATED A HISTORICAL SITE ON THE MILLENIUM TRAIL OLD MIDDLEGATE STATION

More Reviews on Middlegate Station.....................

For a real slice of the old west, a visit to Old Middlegate Station, 47 miles east of Fallon on Highway 50 is worth the trip. The station is located on the historic Pony Express Trail and features a motel/RV park, free camping, and great food and drinks. Middlegate was named by James Simpson in his journal "Across the Great Basin in 1859." He named the cuts in the mountains "gates" to identify the route he took across the desert. His exploration served the stage lines and wagon trains that crossed the country. Simpson's journal is filled with tribulations and encounters during his 1859 journey. He writes of meeting a friendly naked Indian at the middle gate who was surrounded by several dead rates and lizards that had been killed for food. It was at this spot that the Overland Stage & Freight Company built a station to serve the mines south near Tonopah and east to Ely. The station served as a Pony Express stop in 1860-61. After the demise of the Pony, the station continued in operation until the mines closed. Ranchers setting up operations in the valley carried off much of the material used in construction of the original station. The station also sits close to the original Lincoln Highway, a 3,143-mile "rock highway" that stretched from New York to San Francisco, bisecting the heart of America. A piece of that original highway is preserved at Middlegate. Today, owners Russ and Fredda Stevenson are dedicated to preserving the station's place in history.

HWY 50 Most Loneliest Highway.............................

The Life story has proven a promotional bonanza for the folks along U.S. 50. A tongue-in-cheek Highway 50 Survival Guide, available from the Nevada Commission on Tourism, challenges travelers to make the journey. Additionally, several Highway 50 communities have adopted the “Loneliest Road” theme. In Fallon, you can visit the Churchill County Museum, promoted as the “Loneliest Museum on the Loneliest Road,” while Eureka advertises that it is “the Loneliest Town on the Loneliest Road.”