Winnemucca is a city in and the
county seatA county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there...
of
Humboldt CountyHumboldt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of 2007, the population was estimated to be 18,052 . Its county seat is Winnemucca.The county was the site of an arrest in 2000 that led to the U.S. Supreme Court decision Hiibel v...
,
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 7,174. Interstate 80 passes through the city, where it meets U.S. Route 95.
Winnemucca is featured prominently in the novel
Revoltingly Young by
C.D. PayneC. D. Payne is an American writer of absurdist fiction who is best known for his series of novels about fictional teenager Nick Twisp...
, and is also a setting in
More Tales of the CityMore Tales of the City is the second book in the Tales of the City series by San Francisco novelist Armistead Maupin, originally serialized in the San Francisco Chronicle....
by
Armistead MaupinArmistead Jones Maupin Jr. is an American writer best known for his Tales of the City series of novels based in San Francisco.-Biography:...
. The city is also referenced in the North American version of the song
"I've Been Everywhere."The song "I've Been Everywhere" was written by Geoff Mack in 1959 and made popular by the singer Lucky Starr in 1962.It listed Australian towns...
According to a billboard spotted along
State Route 140State Route 140 is a two-lane state highway in Humboldt County, Nevada. Most of the highway was originally part of State Route 8A.-Route description:...
(the "Winnemucca To the Sea Highway"), Winnemucca styles itself "The City by Battle Mountain" (the song referenced above talks about the hitchhiker walking along "the dusty Winnemucca road").
Each February, the city hosts the
NIAAThe Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association is the governing body of athletic programs for high schools in the state of Nevada and five schools in the state of California. It is a non-profit organization founded in 1922 as the Nevada Interscholastic League and became affiliated with the...
state championships in wrestling for all classes (AAAA, AAA and AA) at the Winnemucca Events Center.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Winnemucca was the location of a vibrant Chinatown.
Winnemucca is a city in and the
county seatA county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there...
of
Humboldt CountyHumboldt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of 2007, the population was estimated to be 18,052 . Its county seat is Winnemucca.The county was the site of an arrest in 2000 that led to the U.S. Supreme Court decision Hiibel v...
,
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 7,174. Interstate 80 passes through the city, where it meets U.S. Route 95.
Winnemucca is featured prominently in the novel
Revoltingly Young by
C.D. PayneC. D. Payne is an American writer of absurdist fiction who is best known for his series of novels about fictional teenager Nick Twisp...
, and is also a setting in
More Tales of the CityMore Tales of the City is the second book in the Tales of the City series by San Francisco novelist Armistead Maupin, originally serialized in the San Francisco Chronicle....
by
Armistead MaupinArmistead Jones Maupin Jr. is an American writer best known for his Tales of the City series of novels based in San Francisco.-Biography:...
. The city is also referenced in the North American version of the song
"I've Been Everywhere."The song "I've Been Everywhere" was written by Geoff Mack in 1959 and made popular by the singer Lucky Starr in 1962.It listed Australian towns...
According to a billboard spotted along
State Route 140State Route 140 is a two-lane state highway in Humboldt County, Nevada. Most of the highway was originally part of State Route 8A.-Route description:...
(the "Winnemucca To the Sea Highway"), Winnemucca styles itself "The City by Battle Mountain" (the song referenced above talks about the hitchhiker walking along "the dusty Winnemucca road").
Each February, the city hosts the
NIAAThe Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association is the governing body of athletic programs for high schools in the state of Nevada and five schools in the state of California. It is a non-profit organization founded in 1922 as the Nevada Interscholastic League and became affiliated with the...
state championships in wrestling for all classes (AAAA, AAA and AA) at the Winnemucca Events Center.
Chinatown
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Winnemucca was the location of a vibrant Chinatown. While many Chinese left Winnemucca after the
Central Pacific RailroadThe Central Pacific Railroad was the California-to-Utah portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in North America.Many proposals to build a transcontinental railroad failed because of the disputes over slavery in Washington; with the secession of the South, the modernizers in the Republican...
had completed its connection with the
Union Pacific RailroadThe Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest and oldest operating railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
in 1869, around four hundred Chinese had formed a community in the town by the 1890s. Among the prominent buildings was the Joss House, a place of worship and celebration that was visited by Chinese president
Sun Yat-SenSun Yat-sen was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Republican China, Sun is frequently referred to as the Father of the Nation. Sun played an instrumental role in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty in October 1911, the last imperial dynasty of China...
in 1911.
Geography and climate
Winnemucca is located at (40.968212, -117.726662).
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has a total area of 8.3 square miles (21.4 km²), all land.
| Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Rec High °F |
68 |
74 |
81 |
90 |
98 |
106 |
109 |
108 |
103 |
91 |
77 |
67 |
| Norm High °F |
41.6 |
48.5 |
55.1 |
62.6 |
72 |
82.7 |
92.2 |
90.6 |
80.4 |
67.3 |
51.4 |
42.2 |
| Norm Low °F |
18.5 |
23.6 |
27 |
30.7 |
38.4 |
45.8 |
51.8 |
49.2 |
40.2 |
30.2 |
23.3 |
17 |
| Rec Low °F |
-24 |
-28 |
-3 |
6 |
10 |
23 |
29 |
28 |
12 |
-2 |
-8 |
-37 |
| Precip (in) |
0.83 |
0.62 |
0.86 |
0.85 |
1.06 |
0.69 |
0.27 |
0.35 |
0.53 |
0.66 |
0.8 |
0.81 |
| Source: USTravelWeather.com http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-nevada/winnemucca-weather.asp |
Demographics
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 7,174 people, 2,736 households, and 1,824 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 867.5 people per square mile (334.9/km²). There were 3,280 housing units at an average density of 396.6/sq mi (153.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.41% White, 2.23% African American, 0.89% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 9.60% from other races, and 3.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.74% of the population.
There were 2,736 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.2% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 105.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $46,699, and the median income for a family was $53,681. Males had a median income of $47,917 versus $26,682 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $21,441. About 7.5% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under the age of 18 and 8.1% of those 65 and older.
Transportation
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Winnemucca. The
Winnemucca passenger rail stationThe Winnemucca Amtrak station is a train station in Winnemucca, Nevada, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system.-External links:*...
, at 209 West Railroad Street, is unstaffed and on-site ticket sales are not available.
Historically, Winnemucca was a station on the
Transcontinental RailroadA Transcontinental Railroad is a railroad that crosses a continent from "coast-to-coast". Terminals are at or connected to different oceans. Because Europe is criss-crossed by railways, railroads within Europe are usually not considered transcontinental, the Orient Express perhaps being an...
.
Winnemucca is the half-way point between
Salt Lake CitySalt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. Salt Lake City has a population of 181,698 as of July 1, 2008, making it the 125th largest city in the United States...
and San Francisco.
Employment
Most of Winnemucca's residents are employed directly by mining companies or mining vendors and contractors, or by the many casinos, bars, hotels, and potato processing plants in the city. Winnemucca has several legal brothels.
Education
Humboldt County School District
The district serves Humboldt County.-K-8 schools:* Denio School * Kings River School * Orovada School * Paradise Valley School -Elementary schools :...
operates schools serving Winnemucca.
Three K-4 elementary schools, Grass Valley, Sonoma Heights, and Winnemucca Grammar School, serve sections of Winnemucca. All of Winnemucca is zoned to French Ford Middle School (5-6), Winnemucca Junior High School (7-8), and Albert M. Lowry High School (9-12).
External links