There were a lot variables, some stage routes had a short life span. For example, there were several different routes to Surprise Valley from the Susanvile. Time would be a factor when one route was feasible over another.

Time could also be a factor how a stage stop evolved or just went by the wayside. Case in the point was the Antelope Station, located Long Valley across the county line in Sierra.  It was established in the mid-1860s by Jonathon  C. Roberts. In 1873, Roberts sold to David F. Evans and for many years it was known as the Evans Ranch. In 1882, when the Nevada-California-Oregon (NCO) constructed its railroad there, they established a station named Oneida, for the Sierra County Township of Oneida. On June 6, 1889, a post office was established there named Purdy—for Solomon Purdy who came to Sierra County in 1852, from Oneida, New York and eventually sold to David F. Evans. In 1891, the Purdy Post Office was moved to a site known today as Bordertown. Travelers of U.S. Highway 395 between 1931 and 1976 will know the location of the old Antelope Station as the first site of the California Agricultural Inspection “Bug” Station.

Tim