Oreana, Nevada

Oreana is a ghost town in Pershing County, Nevada, United States.[1]

Oreana, Nevada
Unincorporated community
Oreana, Nevada
Oreana, Nevada
Coordinates: 40°18′39″N 118°22′14″W[1]
CountryUnited States
StateNevada
CountyPershing
Elevation4,058 ft (1,237 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
Area code(s)775
GNIS feature ID848204[1]

Oreana was a milling town from 1865-1885[1] and should not be confused with Oreana Station[2] located 3 miles to the northeast on what was initially the Central Pacific Railway.[1]

The Montezuma Smelting Works was built at Oreana in 1857 to smelt ores from the Arabia and Trinity mining districts.[3] The Montezuma smelter was the first lead smelter in the U.S. to ship lead commercially. Other lead smelters shipped their output locally.[3]

At one time, Oreana was larger than what was then known as "Lovelock's" (today known as Lovelock). However, Lovelock's became larger after Lovelock's successful bid for a Central Pacific station.[4] Oreana only got a full station in early 1913 when the narrow-gauge Nevada Short Line Railway connected from Oreana to Rochester.[4][5]

The Post Office in Oreana operated from February 1867 until July 1869 and then from February 1870 until September 1873 and finally from October 1873 until March 1883.[6]

The name Oreana may come from the "ore" plus the Greek "ana", which means "greatly" or "excessively". The name could also be a corruption of the Spanish "orejano", meaning "unbranded".[3]

Oreana Station

Oreana Station was a station on the Central Pacific Railway from the 1870s[7] until 1924.[2] The station was a supply center for the mines at Rochester. Oreana Station was also known as Oreana, Nenzel and Nenzel Station.[2][3]

The Post Office at Oreana Station operated with the name Oreana from August 1913 until February 1951.[8] Note that the town was also known as Dad's Lee.[8]

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Oreana (historical)
  2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Oreana
  3. Carlson, Helen S. (1974). Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary.
  4. "Tales of Montezuma and the "Spark Plug" Mines Outline the Long Career of Oreana". Nevada State Journal. Reno, Nevada. January 16, 1955. p. 8. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  5. "Oreana Becomes Gateway City for the New District". Nevada State Journal. Reno. February 2, 1913. p. 14. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  6. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Oreana Post Office (historical)
  7. California and Nevada (Map). O.W. Gray & Son. 1878. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  8. Gamett, James; Paher, Stanley W. Nevada Post Offices: An Illustrated History. p. 102. Note that the Oreana Post Office has incorrect dates, see Gamett and Paher for the correct dates.
  • Oreana (Silverstateghosttowns.com)
Smelting Works. Oreana, Nevada. ca. 1857 by Timothy H. O'Sullivan.
Montezuma Silver Works. Oreana, Nevada. ca 1857 by Timothy H. O'Sullivan.


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