The Nine Mile Ranch may have held the name of Lone Star Stage prior to ranching operations in the 1800's. According to maps constructed by Holt in 1866 and published more recently in the Book Aurora Ghost City of the Dawn 1996. Evidence supports this theory as the presence of a stone hut remains on site today. Some historians have researched the ranch to have been owned by Captain John Nye, and place Sam Clemens himself here sometime in the late 1800's
http://www.highdesertdrifter.com/ninemile.shtml

Known to be the oldest standing building left in Mineral County the homestead began as Utah territory in the 1860’s, known as the Cobb’s Ranch. Only one historic notation on a map documented this, with no evidence left on the property.

“Then the Gardener family took ownership, back when Aurora was busy with miners digging for gold and Mark Twain mentioned in his writing that “John Nye is sick, so I am going to help nine miles from Aurora” – which is possibly how it became the Nine-Mile Ranch.” Spickert explained that stage stops were known as mile houses. It was a place to water horses, trade out horses and accommodate people coming through.

According to archivists, Esmeralda County was founded in 1861, with Aurora as the county seat until 1883, which made the Nine-Mile Ranch a thriving destination with workers being hired to harvest alfalfa and various other seasonal crops.

https://mcindependentnews.com/2018/07/history-of-nine-mile-ranch-dates-back-to-the-1860s-2/