Winnemucca, Nevada

History and culture

The town was named for the 19th-century Chief Winnemucca of the local Northern Paiute tribe, who traditionally lived in this area. He and his band had a camp near here. Winnemucca, loosely translated, means "one moccasin." The chief's daughter, Sarah Winnemucca, was an advocate for education and fair treatment of the Paiute and Shoshone tribes in the area. Their family all learned to speak English, and Sarah worked as an interpreter, scout and messenger for the United States Army during the Bannock War of 1878. In 1883 Sarah Winnemucca published the first autobiography written by a Native American woman, based on hundreds of lectures she'd given in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. It has been described as "one of the most enduring ethno-historical books written by an American Indian."

On September 16, 1868, the Central Pacific Railroad reached Winnemucca, and was officially opened on October 1 of that year. It was on the First Transcontinental Railroad. It was part of the transcontinental line.

Basque immigrants worked as sheep-herders starting in the mid-19th century. In honor of this heritage, Winnemucca hosts an annual Basque Festival.

On September 19, 1900, Butch Cassidy's gang robbed the First National Bank of Winnemucca of $32,640.

Winnemucca's brothel district, while smaller now than in the 1980s, is known as "The Line" or "The Ring Circle", based on the layout of the street where the brothels are located. Sex workers in the town must register their vehicles with the local police.

According to a billboard along State Route 140 (the "Winnemucca to the Sea Highway"), Winnemucca styles itself "The City of Paved Streets".

Winnemucca is home to the Buckaroo Hall of Fame and Heritage Museum. It is also the headquarters of the Flawedcast Network.

Chinatown

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Winnemucca had a vibrant Chinatown. The Chinese originally came to the area as workers on the transcontinental Central Pacific Railroad, which reached Winnemucca in 1868. Some remained or returned to settle. During the 1890s, around 400 Chinese formed a community in the town. Among their prominent buildings was the Joss House on Baud Street, a place of worship and celebration. In 1911 the community was visited by Sun Yat-Sen, later to become Chinese president. He was on a fund-raising tour of the United States to help the Xinhai Revolution. The Joss House, the last structure associated with Chinatown, was demolished on March 8, 1955, by order of the Winnemucca City Council.

Geography and climate

Winnemucca is located at 40°58′6″N 117°43′36″W (40.968212, −117.726662).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.4 square miles (24.3 km²), all land.

Winnemucca's climate is semi-arid (Köppen climate classification BSk), averaging a mere 8.28 in (210 mm) of precipitation annually. Summer days tend to be hot, but the temperature drops significantly at night. Winters are cold with generally light snow, with 20.9 in (53 cm) falling during a typical year. The highest recorded temperature in Winnemucca was 109 °F (43 °C), on July 11, 2002, and the lowest recorded temperature was −37 °F (−38 °C) on December 22, 1990. Freezing temperatures have been observed in every month of the year.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,174 people, 2,736 households, and 1,824 families residing in the city. The population density was 867.5 people per square mile (334.9/km²). There were 3,280 housing units at an average density of 396.6 per square mile (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 couples 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 income 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.

Politics

The Winnemucca Indian Colony of Nevada has its headquarters in Winnemucca.

Transportation

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Winnemucca. The California Zephyr provides a daily service in both directions between San Francisco and Chicago. The Winnemucca passenger rail station, at 209 West Railroad Street, is unstaffed and on-site ticket sales are not available.

Historically, Winnemucca was a station on the Transcontinental Railroad.

Winnemucca is near the half-way point between Salt Lake City and San Francisco along Interstate 80, which passes through town. US Route 95 also goes through Winnemucca.

Local aviation needs are served by the Winnemucca Municipal Airport, located about 5 miles southwest of downtown. There are no scheduled passenger services. The closest commercial airport is Reno–Tahoe International Airport in Reno.

Media

The Humboldt Sun is the local newspaper. Ruby Radio operates radio station KHYX-FM with a 100,000 watt signal on 102.7 FM, serving Winnemucca and its outlying communities. It signed on in June 2013 and has an Adult Contemporary format. Buckaroo Broadcasting operates radio station KWNA-AM with a 1,000 watt signal and an oldies format as well as radio station KWNA-FM with a 25,000 watt signal and a country format.

Employment

Many of Winnemucca's residents are employed by mining companies such as Newmont and Barrick Gold or by companies serving the mining industry. Carry-On Trailer employs over 100 residents at their manufacturing facility in the Airport Industrial Park. Other employers include the many casinos, hotels and restaurants located in the city.

Until 2013, Winnemucca Farms operated the world's largest potato dehydration plant.

Education

Humboldt County School District 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).

Notable people

In popular culture

Winnemucca is mentioned in the American version of the song "I've Been Everywhere", recorded, for instance, by Hank Snow (1962), the Statler Brothers (1973), Lynn Anderson (1970), and Johnny Cash (1993). The song begins, "I was totin' my pack along the dusty Winnemucca road."

Winnemucca is featured prominently in the novel Revoltingly Young by C.D. Payne.

Winnemucca is also a setting in two Tales of the City novels – More Tales of the City and The Days of Anna Madrigal, a series of nine novels by American author Armistead Maupin. Over 6 million copies of the novels has been sold worldwide. A character in the series, Mother Mucca, takes her nickname from the town. The series began as a newspaper column in The Pacific Sun in 1975, before moving to the San Francisco Chronicle. It features the first positive portrayals of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender lives. Anna Madrigal, a transgender character was depicted as having been born in Winnemucca, Nevada as Andy Ramsey. The series was made into a TV series with the character of Anna Madrigal played by Olympia Dukakis.

In the movie The Encounter, Jaci Velasquez's character Melissa is on a trip to Winnemucca when the primary plot events unfold.

Rod McKuen's poem Winnemucca, Nevada, in his book Come to Me in Silence, describes his first desk in school.

The town serves as the namesake for the alternative country band Richmond Fontaine's 2002 album, Winnemucca, which prominently features the town in the opening track "Winner's Casino".