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]
^ abGamett, 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.
