Ruby Valley Pony Express Station

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

From the record

“The Ruby Valley Pony Express Station, located at 1515 Idaho St. in Elko, Nevada, was built in 1860 in Ruby Valley, Nevada. It was moved in 1960 approximately 60 miles (97 km) to Elko, during the centennial anniversary year for the Pony Express, and then restored, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.”
Wikipedia article Ruby Valley Pony Express Station, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 7 National Register listings published here for Elko County · listed in 1975 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 1515 Idaho St., Elko, 89801
When was it listed? March 1975
Category. building
Census division. Elko
National Register reference number. 75001110 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

133 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 133 fires within 5 miles of Ruby Valley Pony Express Station between 1992 and 2020, burning about 33,613 acres in total. 25 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	71
Natural	25
Equipment and vehicle use	11
Power generation/transmission/distribution	7
Fireworks	5
Misuse of fire by a minor	4
Recreation and ceremony	4
Debris and open burning	2
Other causes	2
Smoking	1
Firearms and explosives use	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
9 September 2011	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Elko District Office	SUNDANCE
7 September 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Nevada Division of Forestry - Northern Region	BULLION
7 September 2017	Natural	279 acres	Elko District Office	THE E
4 September 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	2.0 acres	Elko District Office	CARWIL
4 September 2007	Natural	under an acre	Elko District Office	CHIMNEY CREEK
30 September 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Elko District Office	OPAL
29 September 2017	Equipment and vehicle use	17 acres	Elko District Office	LAMOILLE SUMMIT
21 September 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Elko County Fire Protection District	I-80

Every fire recorded in Elko County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 15 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of Ruby Valley Pony Express Station: 8 past producers, 5 unknowns, 1 occurrence, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Geothermal, Zeolites. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Four Mile Canyon	Zeolites	Occurrence
Hot Hole	Geothermal	Unknown
Ogilvie Prospect	Copper	Unknown
Randolph Mill	Barium-Barite	Past Producer
Sandstone Quarry	Flagstone	Past Producer
Basalt Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Unknown
Conglomerate Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Unknown
Boehler Pit & Mill	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Churchfield Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Elko City Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Elko County

Storms near this property

37 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Elko, the town this property stands in, in 37 storm reports between 1993 and 2023: 18 thunderstorm wind, 9 flash flood, 5 hail, 3 tornado. The reports record 4 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
July 2015	Dust Devil	Elko	4 hurt, $1,000	A dust devil moved across Warrior Field at Elko High School during the Relay for Life event. Five to seven tents were lifted off the ground. As the tents were lifted off the ground tables inside the tents were turned over resulting in minor injuries to 4 people.
July 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	$3,000,000	Scaffolding collapsed from gusty outflow winds between 50 to 55 mph. No injuries, but the roadway was blocked. Elko Airport also gusted to 51 mph and NWS Elko gusted to 49 mph. Blowing dust was also observed.
April 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	$1,000,000	A dry microburst produced a wind gust to 67 MPH at the NWS Elko WFO. Other minor damage in town consisted of displaced shingles and a damaged fence. Blowing dust was also observed, but did not cause any significant impacts.
July 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	$10,000	Thunderstorms winds uprooted a 1 foot diameter tree which fell on 3 vehicles in a hotel parking lot causing damage.
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds blew off the metal roof of a utility building next to the Elko Little League field. With the lack of nearby damage it was felt winds were sub-severe and the roof was probably old and flimsy.
September 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	$4,000	Thunderstorm winds blew power and telephone lines down. Damages are estimated.
July 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	$3,000	Thunderstorm winds blew a one foot diameter tree branch onto a house and blew some shingles off the roof of the Senior Center. Damages are estimated.
May 2014	Tornado (EF0)	Elko	$2,000	The tornado touched down along Aspen Way near the Post Office. It uprooted a large tree and snapped off multiple branches along Aspen Way. The tornado then moved into the Smith's parking lot where it torn off a five by twenty foot section of shingles from the car wash. It also lifted shopping carts into the air. One shopping car slammed into the back of a vehicle causing some damage.
August 2014	Hail	Elko	$1,000	Several reports were received of 1 to 1.25 inch hail in Elko. Pictures were sent that verified the size of the hail. NWS employee also reported tree damage and dents to vehicles along Mountain City Highway. Damages estimated.
July 2014	Flash Flood	Elko	$1,000	Street flooding was reported on various streets in and around downtown Elko. Damages are estimated.
June 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	$700	A large limb estimated 20 feet long and 8 inches in diameter down on the Chamber of Commerce property in Elko. Also, a large tree was downed across a culvert on Cedar Street in Elko.
August 2023	Flash Flood	Elko	-	Heavy rain from a thunderstorm caused an area of water approximately six to ten inches deep to run over portions of Tenth Street and Silver Street in Elko. The water covered the road and went over adjacent sidewalks.
August 2023	Flash Flood	Elko	-	Heavy rain from thunderstorms produced localized flooding at the intersections of 5th and Fir Streets. Photos from the public show water 3-6 inches deep over the roadway, with some folks taking to using Kayaks for their amusement.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	-	Downburst winds occurred at (LKN) National Weather Service Office at Elko, Elevation 5235 feet.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	-	LMRNV, 3.4 miles SE Elko, Elevation 5786 feet.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	-	SR-227 Lamoille Summit (EKSNV), Elevation 5786 feet.
May 2018	Hail	Elko	-	The public reported nickel size hail. Photos showed significant hail accumulation impacting SR 225 north of Elko, Nevada.
May 2018	Flash Flood	Elko	-	Flash flooding covered parking lots in the area.
May 2018	Flash Flood	Elko	-	Flooding videos and photos show flash flooding on Last Chance Road in Elko, Nevada. Possible minor road damage or erosion.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	-	Tree damage was reported from thunderstorms winds along Bullion road in Elko.
May 2014	Tornado (EF0)	Elko	-	A photo was taken of the tornado. A storm survey was completed and the only evidence of a tornado was some debris stuck in a fence along the path of the tornado.
August 2014	Hail	Elko	-	Photo from social media showed hail covering the ground. Estimated hail size ranged from dimes to nickels.
September 2013	Flash Flood	Elko	-	Received numerous reports and pictures from the public and NWS employees of flash flooding on many streets within the city of Elko. Estimated 1 to 2 feet of water flowing across many streets. One basement was reported flooded along with several garages. A mud slide was also reported near Adobe Summit along state route 225 north of Elko.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	-	Thunderstorm winds ripped off the metal roof of an open-front shed near Southside Park in Elko and carried it about 50 yards.
August 2003	Flash Flood	Elko	-	Flash floods washed mud and debris onto Interstate 80 closing the highway for about 3 hours.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	-	A dry microburst produced wind gusts to 58 mph at the NWS office in Northeast Elko.
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	-	A severe thunderstorm produced a 60 mph gust at the Elko airport.
August 1993	Tornado (F0)	Elko	-	A tornado was reported by several witnesses 40 miles north of Elko.
August 2014	Hail	Elko	-	no account filed
July 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	-	no account filed
August 2003	Flash Flood	Elko	-	no account filed
August 1999	Hail	Elko	-	no account filed
August 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	-	no account filed
June 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	-	no account filed
June 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Elko	-	no account filed
July 1996	Flash Flood	Elko	-	no account filed
July 1996	Flood	Elko	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Elko County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

2 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph	Property	Distance	Listed
	Elko County Courthouse	0.8 miles	1992
	US Post Office-Elko Main	1.1 miles	1990

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 75001110 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Elko County	All 7 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.