Fourteen Mile House-- sometimes referred to as Maryland Wells-- was a stage station on the Hamilton Road to Eureka. Later it was a landmark on the Lincoln Highway, although only radiator water was available.
A word about the location
FOURTEEN MILE HOUSE (MARYLAND WELLS)
The Lincoln Highway Guide lists the following stops-- Six Mile House (Coyle's Ranch) then 11 miles to Pancake Summit, then 7 miles to fourteen Mile House, then 8 miles to Pinto House.
However, what we now know as Pancake Summit is on U.S. 50 and not on the old Lincoln Highway. The summit in the Pancake Range in those days was just east of what is now the
Calibre Mining Corp- Pan Mine-- 6.7 miles SSE.
In addition, according to the two photographs we have-- one labeled "14 Mile House" and another "near 14 Mile House" we can see that the land is fairly flat with mountains in the distance.
When searching for "Maryland Wells" in Google it gives a location in the Pinto Basin at 39.4140952 -115.9208973. However, this doesn't seem to fit with the photograph, and it certainly doesn't fit the Lincoln Highway mileage figures, since it would be only about 1,000 yards from Pinto House. So we are making a scientific estimate that the location of Maryland Wells / 14 Mile House is somewhere near 39.355590° -115.826531°.
An early mention of the station.
FEET FROZEN
The driver of the Hamilton stage last night picked up a poor fellow at Maryland Wells whose feet were frozen. He had hoofed the whole distance from Hamilton to that station, but could go no further. He will be taken care of here.
-Eureka Daily Sentinel, February 2, 1873
Routes were always changing for various reasons.
Route May Be Changed to Get Away From White Pine Summit.
Supt. G. D. Abbott of the Eureka & Palisade Railway came up from Palisade last Saturday and left Eureka Sunday by team to view the new road recently surveyed between Eureka and Ely. The heavy snows on White Pine summit near Hamilton make Winter travel and freighting very difficult and often impossible. To get away from this and to shorten the distance, the E & P. Company have considered the advisability of opening up again a long abandoned wagon road. This route leaves the present road at the mouth of the canyon below Pinto, then it goes to the Maryland Wells and on through the Pancake range, then across the valley and over a low summit a little north of Round Springs, cutting out the Six Mile House and White Pine summit, and coming into the road now used just south of the Shekels ranch. This is the only part of the present traveled road to be changed, if it is decided to do so, and after going over the route Mr. Abbott continued on to Ely. He returned to Eureka Friday noon, ac-companied by Jack McKenzie, the mining expert, who went to Ely a few weeks ago. They left for Palisade on the afternoon train.
-Eureka Sentinel, October 15, 1904
Even the stray horses knew to come here.
ESTRAY NOTICE
Came to Maryland Wells Station on the Hamilton Road, 14 miles from Eureka, on October 20, 1904, a blood-bay work horse, about ten years old and weighing 1200 pounds. Branded with a quarter circle S-- S -- on left hip. Owner can obtain his property by paying expenses. PETER SCHAEFFER, Maryland Wells, White Pine County, Nevada, November 23, 1904
-Eureka Sentinel, December 10, 1904
By this time, the Lincoln Highway was a going concern and detailed directions and sign posts were available for travelers.
A excerpt of the detialed directions given by the Ely Commercial League, wh want to be sure you reach them at Ely. A "Stewart Speedomoter" was made by the commercial ancestor of Stewart-Warner, and touted as being very accurate.
AUTO ROUTES OUT OF EUREKA
The following logs of the auto route from Eureka to Ely, and from Eureka to Austin, are furnished by the Ely Commercial League of Ely, Nevada :
EUREKA TO ELY, NEVADA
77.3 Miles by Stewart Speedometer, Five Hours A new road will be constructed shortening this distance about 12 miles, avoiding two summits. Inquire at the hotels in Eureka about new road before following this log.
0.0 Brown Hotel on left, court house on right, go straight ahead.
1.5 Take left fork.
7.0 Pinto house.
9.5 L. fork, signboard.
9.6 Left fork, signboard.
11.0 R. fork.
11.5 R. fork.
12.4 Old telephone line disappears.
15.0 Fourteen mile house, water, sign. board. Turn right around corral and head straight east across valley.
22.2 Pancake Summit.
32.7 Six Mile house, meals and water. Turn to L. Telephone to Ely.
33.7 L. fork signboard (R. goes to Hamilton) 36.8 White Pine Summit.
38.8 Spring, water.
40.2 L. fork.
40.8 Bridge.
42.8 Rosevear's ranch.
45.2 Moorman's ranch. Telephone to Ely
45.9 Right fork.
50.3 Bridge.
59.3 "Jake's Summit."
64.5 Turn left at signboard and go up canyon. 65.5 X R. R. at Veteran.
65.8 Summit. Turn right and start downhill. 66.1 X. R. R., Giroux mill spur. Keep all left hand roads down canyon.
66.9 Through Riepetown.
67.3 Take R. fork and follow power pole line.
68.2 Go to left of barn, immediately turn left and go up hill.
68.5 X. R. R. and take right fork.
68.6 X. R. R.
68.7 Take L. fork.
68.8 X. R. R.
68.9 Office Nevada Con. Copper Co.
-Eureka Sentinel, March 16, 1912
Come see the new Dodge! Hope he washed the cricket guts off first.
Robert F. Clark of Salt Lake, traveling for a large hardware firm, arrived in Eureka Thursday in one of the new Dodge autos. He remained here several hours and during that time the car was gone over by a number of our local auto fans that have never before had the opportunity of inspecting a Dodge car. The general comment regarding the car was most favorable, and that it surely looked to be worth the price asked for these autos. Mr. Clark stated that while crossing the flat near the Maryland Wells, about 20 miles southeast of Eureka, he ran into a cloud of traveling grasshoppers that compelled him to stop his car and close it up before he was able to wade through what he said seemed to be millions of hoppers. A like circumstance was reported about two weeks ago by autoists passing over the southern route in Nye County.
-Eureka Sentinel, June 26, 1915
Don't know who these guys were or if they had any autority to be changing the route, but....
Road In Flats Getting Bad
The ore teams and increased auto travel over the road from Hamilton to Eureka has recently cut up the road in the flats and left many chuck holes and high centers. Dan Morrison went out Thursday morning in his car with Ed Whitmore, Angelo Frank and Pete Merialdo and they changed the regular road from the Fourteen Mile House east to a former old road that bears a little north and gives travelers a good road, to the Six Mile House. They changed the Lincoln Highway signs and flagged the entire 20 miles, erecting signs where the new road was cut in and explaining to Mr. Tourist why the route had been changed. On account of the deep dust, many holes and high centers in crossing the Regli flat on the road from Austin, the auto travel this week was switched to the road coming over Cariboo hill and into Eureka down Ruby Hill avenue. This latter is a pretty fair route when the roads are dry, but a little too sidling and slippery during wet weather.
-Eureka Sentinel, July 10, 1915
This probably spelled the end for Fourteen Mile House.
The buildings, stables and corrals at Maryland Wells, generally known as the Fourteen Mile House station, on the road from Eureka to Hamilton, were totally destroyed by fire Friday afternoon. This news was brought to Eureka Friday night by an autoist traveling over the Lincoln Highway who spent the night in Eureka. He said that when he passed at 3 o'clock in the afternoon everything was down and only the embers were then burning. It is not known what caused the fire. The property belonged to William Matson of Hamilton.
-Eureka Sentinel, October 23, 1915
Either not all the buildings burned, or some were built after the fire. The photo from 1920 does show some structures. Either way, I guess using the building for fuel is better than freezing but...
Last week James Valleau of Ely, accompanied by J. A. Roach, became stalled near Fourteen Mile House on the Lincoln Highway, headed for Ely. In turning about to return to Eureka an axle of the car was broken. They spent the night in a cabin using part of the building for fuel.
-Reno Evening Gazette, March 5, 1929