The identity and location of Machette's Station remains controversial. Local tradition places the site on the Williams' Upper 96 Ranch, four miles east of Fort McPherson in Lincoln County, Nebraska.

Nevertheless, some historians question the very existence of the Machette site as part of the original Pony Express route. Mattes and Henderson suggest two possibilities regarding the "Machette" building. First, Machette's existed as a ranch in the early 1860s but did not serve as a relay station. Second, "Machette" was a corruption of "McDonald," another name for the Cottonwood Springs Station. The building housed station activities at McDonald's and was later moved to the Upper 96 site. Some type of station existed in the area, variously known as Dan Trout's Station, Joe Bower's Ranche, and Broken Ranch. (NPS)

Note: Point plotted was obtained from a Google Map search of Pony Express Gothenburg.