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Winnemucca, Nevada

Winnemucca, Nevada
The setting of Winnemucca

The halfway point between San Francisco and Salt Lake City, Winnemucca owes its real growth to the Transcontinental Railroad. The area had been occupied by Europeans off-and-on since the 1830's. In those days it was beaver trappers like Peter Skeen Ogden who first established a camp on Mary's River in 1830. By the 1850's there were California-bound wagon trains passing through on the Humboldt Trail. That was when the trading post at "Frenchmans Ford" on the southern bank of the river started to come into its own. The rough settlement was renamed Winnemucca in 1863, in honor of the principal Paiute chief in the area. Over time, mining came to be a large part of the local economy, while the railroad has dropped off somewhat in its importance. Once the Transcontinental Railroad was complete, many of the Chinese laborers that had been imported for that work by the Central Pacific Railroad scattered across the west. By the 1890's, a large and vibrant Chinatown was happening in Winnemucca. They, of course, built a very prominent Joss House for worship and celebration. The Joss House became so famous that it was visited by the Chinese president Sun Yat-Sen when he came to America in 1911. Since then, though, the Chinese population has dropped off to where it is almost nothing now.

Many of today's residents of Winnemucca are employed by either mining companies directly or by the mining companies' suppliers, vendors or sub-contractors. Winnemucca also has many bars, casinos and hotels. There are even a couple of large potato processing plants in town. Winnemucca is also home to several establishments where mankind's oldest profession is legally practiced (and regulated and taxed). Cattle and sheep ranching have grown to be large businesses in the surrounding area and Winnemucca is home now to a small but active Basque community.

Fast Facts about Winnemucca, Nevada
Winnemucca, Humboldt County, NV 89445, 89446
Elevation: 4,295'
Latitude: 40.9682°N
Longitude: 117.7267°W
Resident Racial Breakdown:
White Non-Hispanic: 67.5%
Hispanic: 26.2%
Native American: 1.9%
Other: 2.3%
Two or More Races: 2.1%
Education:
High School or Higher: 81.9%
Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 20.4%
Graduate or Professional Degree: 6.4%
2009 Estimates:
Population: 8,283
Males: 4,244
Females: 4,039
Median Resident Age: 34.0 Years
Estimated Median Household Income: $52,200
Estimated Median Home Value: $108,100
Population Density: 1,002 People per Square Mile
2011 Cost of Living Index for Winnemucca: 82.2
Major Industries:
Mining, Lodging & Food Services, Educational Services, Construction, Entertainment & Recreation, Government, Health Care, Utilities
Unemployed: 9.6%
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