The Williams Station massacre was an incident that ignited the Pyramid Lake War of 1860. Williams Station was a combination saloon, general store, stagecoach and Pony Express station located along the Carson River at the modern-day Lahontan Reservoir. On May 6, 1860, Williams Station was raided by Paiutes while its owner was away. There are conflicting versions as to why an Indian war party killed all the white men and burned Williams Station. Sarah Winnemucca wrote that two Paiute children were kidnapped by the Williams brothers and that when the childred were discovered, the Paiutes killed the two brothers after they had molested two sisters that were the age of 12. Another source states that the Paiutes were upset at the encroachment of the whites and that they decided to ally with a la