Churchill County is a
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
in the western
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. As of the
2020 census, the population was 25,516.
Its
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
is
Fallon. Named for
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
hero
brevet
Brevet may refer to:
Military
* Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay
* Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college
* Aircre ...
Brigadier General
Sylvester Churchill
Sylvester Churchill (August 2, 1783 – December 7, 1862) was an American journalist and Regular Army officer.
Early life
Churchill was born in Woodstock, Vermont, the son of Joseph and Sarah (Cobb) Churchill. Educated in the schools of his hom ...
, the county was formed in 1861. Churchill County comprises the Fallon, NV
Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is in northwestern Nevada. Churchill County is noteworthy in that it owns and operates the local telephone carrier, Churchill County Communications.
History
Churchill County was established in 1861, and was named for
Fort Churchill (which is now in
Lyon County), which was named for General
Sylvester Churchill
Sylvester Churchill (August 2, 1783 – December 7, 1862) was an American journalist and Regular Army officer.
Early life
Churchill was born in Woodstock, Vermont, the son of Joseph and Sarah (Cobb) Churchill. Educated in the schools of his hom ...
, a
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
hero who was Inspector General of the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
in 1861. Churchill County was not organized until 1864, and its first county seat was
Bucklands (which is now in Lyon County). In 1864 the county seat was moved to La Plata;
[ in 1868 it was moved to Stillwater; and in 1904 it was settled in its present position, Fallon. In the 19th century there were several attempts to eliminate Churchill County because of its small population, but Assemblyman Lemuel Allen stopped it on all occasions including convincing the Governor to veto an 1875 bill after it had been passed by both houses.
]
Railroads
The Eagle Salt Works Railroad ran for , primarily on the original Central Pacific grade from Luva ( east of Fernley) to Eagle Salt Works.
The Central Pacific portion of the nation's first transcontinental railroad ran through Churchill County, although a portion of the original route has been shifted for a new route south of Wadsworth in favor of Fernley. The Central Pacific later became the Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
which was merged into Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
in 1996.
Geography
The terrain of Churchill County consists of rugged mountainous ridges, dotted with lakes and ponds.[''Churchill County NV'' Google Maps (accessed 10 February 2019)]
/ref> The county's east and west sides are higher than the intermediate valley; its highest point around the county periphery is a ridge on the lower east boundary line, at 9,380' (2859m) ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (1.9%) is water. The county's highest point is Desatoya Peak at 9,977' (3041m), while the most topographically prominent peak is Mount Augusta
Mount Augusta, also designated Boundary Peak 183, is a high peak in the state of Alaska.
Mount Augusta lies about south of Mount Logan and 25 km east of Mount Saint Elias, respectively the first and second highest mountains in Canada. It f ...
, at 9,970' (3039m) ASL.
Major highways
*
Interstate 11
Interstate 11 (I-11) is an Interstate Highway that currently runs for on a predominantly northwest–southeast alignment in the US state of Nevada, running concurrently with US Route 93 (US 93) between the Arizona state line ...
(Future)
*
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
*
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...
* ![Alt plate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Alt_plate.svg)
U.S. Route 50 Alternate
*
U.S. Route 95
US Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highways, US Highway in the western United States. It travels through the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho, staying inland from the Pacific Coast ...
* ![Alt plate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Alt_plate.svg)
U.S. Route 95 Alternate
*
State Route 115
*
State Route 116
*
State Route 117
*
State Route 118
Route 118 or Highway 118 can refer to multiple roads:
Argentina
* National Route 118 (Argentina), National Route 118
Canada
* British Columbia Highway 118
* New Brunswick Route 118
* Nova Scotia Highway 118
* Ontario Highway 118
* Prince ...
*
State Route 119
*
State Route 120
*
State Route 121
*
State Route 361
*
State Route 715
*
State Route 718
*
State Route 720
*
State Route 722
*
State Route 723
*
State Route 726
*
State Route 839
Adjacent counties
* Lyon County – west
* Washoe County – northwest
* Pershing County
Pershing County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,650. Its county seat is Lovelock. The county was named after army general John J. Pershing (1860–1948). It was formed from Humboldt County ...
– north
* Lander County – east
* Nye County
Nye County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,591. Its county seat is Tonopah. At , Nye is Nevada's largest county by area and the third-largest county in the contiguous United States, behi ...
– southeast
* Mineral County – south
Protected areas
* Fallon National Wildlife Refuge
Fallon National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in western Nevada. It was established in 1931 as a refuge and breeding ground for birds and other wild animals.
The refuge comprises over of playa and we ...
* Humboldt State Wildlife Management Area
* Lahontan State Game Refuge
* Lahontan State Recreation Area (partial)
* Sand Mountain Recreation Area
* Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge
Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States in Nevada. It is located in the Lahontan Valley, near the community of Fallon, sixty miles east of Reno. It was established in 1949 and encompasses .
The Stil ...
[
]
Lakes and reservoirs
* Big Water
* Carson Lake
* Cattail Lake
* Division Lake
* Dog Head Pond
* Dry Lake
A dry lake bed, also known as a playa, is a basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body, which disappears when evaporation processes exceeds recharge. If the floor of a dry lake is covered by deposits of alkaline c ...
* Dutch Bill Lake
* East Alkali Lake Number One
* East Alkali Lake Number Two
* Foxtail Lake
* Goose Lake
* Humboldt Lake
Lake Humboldt or Humboldt Lake is an endorheic basin lake in northern Churchill County and southern Pershing County in the state of Nevada in the United States. The lake has the name of Alexander von Humboldt, a German natural scientist.
The la ...
(partial)
* Lahontan Reservoir
Modern Lake Lahontan is a reservoir on the Carson River in northwest Nevada in the United States. It is formed by the Lahontan Dam, built in 1905 by the Bureau of Reclamation as part of the Newlands Reclamation Act and is located between Fallon, ...
* Little Soda Lake
* North Nutgrass Lake
* Pintail Bay
* Scheckler Reservoir
* Soda Lake
A soda lake or alkaline lake is a lake on the strongly alkaline side of neutrality, typically with a pH value between 9 and 12. They are characterized by high concentrations of carbonate salts, typically sodium carbonate (and related salt complex ...
* Stillwater Point Reservoir
* Swan Check
* Swan Lake
* Tule Lake
* West Nutgrass
* Willow Lake
[
]
Demographics
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States Census
The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...
, the county had 23,982 people, 8,912 households, and 6,461 families. The population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 5 people per square mile (2/km2). There were 9,732 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km2).
The country's racial makeup was 84.2% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 1.6% Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
or African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 4.8% Native American, 2.7% Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.2% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 3.2% from other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 3.3% from two or more races. 8.7% of the population were Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race.
There were 8,912 households, of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.09.
28.0% of the county's population was under age 18, 8.1% was from age 18 to 24, 28.7% was from age 25 to 44, 22.3% was from age 45 to 64, and 11.9% was age 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.1 males.
The country's median household income was $40,808 and the median family income was $46,624. Males had a median income of $36,478 versus $25,000 for females. The county's per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
was $19,264. About 6.2% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
, the county had 24,877 people, 9,671 households, and 6,631 families. The population density was . There were 10,826 housing units at an average density of .
The county's racial makeup was 82.0% white, 4.5% American Indian, 2.7% Asian, 1.6% black or African American, 0.2% Pacific islander, 4.8% from other races, and 4.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 12.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 19.2% were English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, 18.8% were German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, 13.6% were Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, 6.5% were Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
, and 5.9% were American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
.
Of the 9,671 households, 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.4% were non-families, and 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.01. The median age was 39.0 years.[
The county's median household income was $51,597 and the median family income was $63,599. Males had a median income of $45,057 versus $32,550 for females. The county's per capita income was $22,997. About 6.8% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the ]poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 7.3% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
City
* Fallon
Census-designated place
* Fallon Station
Unincorporated communities
* Cold Springs
* Dixie Valley
The Dixie Valley is an endorheic basin which had plentiful ground water (free-flowing artesian wells) around which ranches were built. Prior to the US Navy TOPGUN school moving from California to Nevada, the valley was purchased in 1995 for $10 ...
* Eastgate
* Hazen
* Middlegate
* Stillwater
[
]
Politics
Lying on the boundary between the northwest urban areas of Nevada and the conservative Mormon Great Basin, Churchill County has more in common with the latter region, being overwhelmingly Republican. It was one of three Nevada counties Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...
won in 1964, and since that time only Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
in 1976 and Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
in 2008 have passed so much as thirty percent of the county's ballots. The last time Churchill County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate was when it supported Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
against Wendell Willkie
Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...
in 1940.
See also
*
* USS ''Churchill County'' (LST-583)
Notes
Notable people
* Luella Kirkbride Drumm
Luella Kirkbride Drumm (June 17, 1872 – February 11, 1962) was a 20th-century American politician and Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who was elected to the Nevada State Legislature in 1939. The representative for Churchill County, ...
, the only woman to serve in the Nevada State Legislature
The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislatur ...
in 1939.
* Mary Daisy White, one of the first women elected to the Nevada Assembly
The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year ...
.[Bernard, Patti and Janice Hoke. ]
Mary Daisy Allen Williams White
” Reno, Nevada: Nevada Women’s History Project, retrieved online June 19, 2021.
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 39.60, -118.34, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-NV_source:UScensus1990
1861 establishments in Nevada Territory
Populated places established in 1861