South of Silver Springs along the Carson River, this park preserves the ruins of Fort Churchill, an Army post established after the violence that sparked the Pyramid Lake War, and Buckland Station, a key stop on the Pony Express and Central Overland Route. Built in 1860–1861 and named for Sylvester Churchill, the fort protected settlers and mail service and became an important Union supply depot during the Civil War before the Army abandoned it in 1869. Later preservation efforts stabilized the ruins, and the park grew to include Buckland Station and a broad river corridor that joins military, overland travel, and natural history.