Middlegate was named in 1850 by James Simson as he mapped the route for the Overland Stage Company, choosing the name from mountain cuts he thought looked like gates and using Westgate, Middlegate, and Eastgate to identify his route across the desert. In 1859 the Overland Stage & Freight Company built a station there to serve the gold and silver mines near Tonopah and east to Ely. When the Pony Express began service on April 3, 1860, Middlegate served as a changing station for 18 months until October 24, 1861, when completion of the Pacific Telegraph line ended the need for it. Middlegate continued as a stage and freight station until the early 1900's, delivering personnel and needed supplies to the gold and silver mines in eastern Nevada until the mines closed. Automobiles soon came into use, and the Lincoln Highway replaced the long and uncomfortable stage routes. The drama associated with the Pony Express and the area's early history made Middlegate Station part of the legend of the American West.