Oreana, Nevada

Oreana, Nevada
Unincorporated community
Oreana, Nevada is located in Nevada
Oreana, Nevada
Oreana, Nevada
Oreana, Nevada is located in the United States
Oreana, Nevada
Oreana, Nevada
Coordinates: 40°18′39″N 118°22′14″W / 40.31083°N 118.37056°W / 40.31083; -118.37056[1]
CountryUnited States
StateNevada
CountyPershing
Elevation
[1]
4,058 ft (1,237 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
Area code775
GNIS feature ID848204[1]

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

  1. ^ a b c d e f U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Oreana (historical)
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Oreana
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference carlson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b "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)