Gerlach, Nevada
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Gerlach, Nevada is a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
(CDP) in Washoe County,
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 ...
, United States. The population was 107 at the 2018
American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
. It is part of the
Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...
Sparks Sparks may refer to: Places *Sparks, Georgia * Sparks, Kansas *Sparks, Kentucky *Sparks, Maryland * Sparks, Nebraska *Sparks, Nevada *Sparks, Oklahoma *Sparks, Texas * Sparks, Bell County, Texas * Sparks, West Virginia Books * ''Sparks'' (Raffi ...
Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
. Prior to 2010, Gerlach was part of the Gerlach–Empire census-designated place. The town of
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
is now a separate CDP. The next nearest town,
Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, is to the south on a reservation owned by the
Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Reservation is a United States reservation in northwestern Nevada, approximately northeast of Reno, in Washoe, Storey, and Lyon counties. It is governed by the federally recognized Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, whi ...
. The
Fly Geyser Fly Geyser, also known as Fly Ranch Geyser is a small geothermal geyser located on private land in Washoe County, Nevada, about north of Gerlach. Fly Geyser is located near the edge of Fly Reservoir in the Hualapai Geothermal Flats and is appro ...
is located near Gerlach.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the Gerlach CDP has a total area of , all land. Its elevation is . Gerlach is approximately north of
Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
.


Demographics


Climate

Gerlach has a
steppe climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(
Bsk BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK Led ...
).


Economy

The economy of Gerlach focuses on tourism in the nearby
Black Rock Desert __NOTOC__ The Black Rock Desert is a semi-arid region (in the Great Basin shrub steppe eco-region) of lava beds and playa, or alkali flats, situated in the Black Rock Desert–High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, a si ...
, and hunting.
Gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...
mining was the historic staple of the local economy. Nearby Empire was a
company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...
of the United States Gypsum Corporation (USG) until the plant closed on January 31, 2011, eliminating 95 jobs.Huffington Post: "Empire, Nevada Completely Wiped Out By Recession", June 22, 2011.
/ref> In 2016, the town of Empire was purchased by the Empire Mining Company, who have re-opened gypsum mining operations, and have begun to rehabilitate the houses in town. The other major industries are a
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 ...
switching station in Gerlach and public services of Washoe County, which includes its roads department and a K–12 public school owned by the
Washoe County School District The Washoe County School District (WCSD) is a public school district providing public education to students in all parts of Washoe County, Nevada, including the cities of Reno and Sparks, and the unincorporated communities of Verdi, Incline Vil ...
; the future of the Gerlach K–12 School is uncertain, as it is estimated after the gypsum plant closed in 2011, only around a dozen children remained in Gerlach. Many of the inhabitants of Gerlach are elderly retirees. Many people in Gerlach also have small private businesses. Many businesses are Internet-based, due to the town's remote Nevada location. Hunters from all over the west travel to Gerlach to hunt a wide variety of game such as chukar, geese, deer, antelope, etc. Since 1990,
Burning Man Burning Man is an event focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance held annually in the western United States. The name of the event comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred ...
, a week-long
countercultural A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...
festival attended by 68,000 (), has been held nearby. The event is responsible for around 25% of the yearly sales at the few commercial establishments in the area, which include the closest permanent fuel and grocery stops to the Burning Man event site. The
Black Rock Desert __NOTOC__ The Black Rock Desert is a semi-arid region (in the Great Basin shrub steppe eco-region) of lava beds and playa, or alkali flats, situated in the Black Rock Desert–High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, a si ...
is also the site of many other recreational activities throughout the year.


History

Gerlach was founded in 1906 during the construction of the
Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...
Feather River Route The Feather River Route is a rail line that was built and operated by the Western Pacific Railroad. It was constructed between 1906 and 1909, and connects the cities of Oakland, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The line was built to compete ...
. In 1997, the town and its homes and bars were used by the British team of the
Thrust SSC ThrustSSC, Thrust SSC or Thrust SuperSonic Car is a British jet car developed by Richard Noble, Glynne Bowsher, Ron Ayers, and Jeremy Bliss. Thrust SSC holds the world land speed record, set on 15 October 1997, and driven by Andy Green, w ...
supersonic car, as they pursued their goal of being the first to go faster than the speed of sound, which was achieved on October 15, 1997. The record still stands today. The Black Rock Saloon in the town kept track of the progress, given at the same time,
Craig Breedlove Craig Breedlove (born March 23, 1937) is an American professional race car driver and a five-time world land speed record holder. He was the first person in history to reach , and , using several turbojet-powered vehicles, all named '' Spirit o ...
attempted his own pursuit of the sound barrier. In 2017, several members of the former Thrust team revisited Gerlach for a reunion to mark the 20th anniversary. In 2009, the Space Chair was lofted to near space north of Gerlach.


Government

Gerlach previously had a volunteer fire department, but in 2015 the entire department resigned. The county had plans to establish fire services.


Transportation

Primary highway access to Gerlach is provided by State Route 447. It can also be accessed via three former state highways: State Route 34, State Route 48, and State Route 49 (also known as Jungo Road). Gerlach has an airfield, simply a graded dirt strip, which is no longer usable. It should not be used unless under emergency. The ''
California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overal ...
''
inter-city rail Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains. There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...
service was routed through Gerlach from its inception in 1949 until the end of its pre-
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
incarnation in 1970, providing direct service from
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
to
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
.


In Popular Culture

Gerlach was one of the film locations for the film ''
Far From Home Far from Home may refer to: Film and television * ''Far from Home'' (1975 film), a 1975 Iranian film * ''Far from Home'' (1989 film), a 1989 American thriller * '' Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog'', a 1994 American adventure film * ...
'' (1989). Gerlach was also the site for
Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...
's first (credited) film, ''
The Winning of Barbara Worth ''The Winning of Barbara Worth'' is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by Henry King, and starring Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky and Gary Cooper (who replaced Monte Blue). Based on Harold Bell Wright's novel ''The Winning of Barbara Wo ...
'' (1926).


Media

Gerlach has two non-profit community-based radio stations. KFBR 91.5 is run by Friends of Black Rock/High Rock, and has a studio at Jalisco's on Main Street. KLAP 89.5 is run by Open Sky Radio Corp and broadcast from a studio located at 395 Main Street in the old Gerlach Gas Station and Garage Building Office.


Education

Washoe County School District The Washoe County School District (WCSD) is a public school district providing public education to students in all parts of Washoe County, Nevada, including the cities of Reno and Sparks, and the unincorporated communities of Verdi, Incline Vil ...
operates
Gerlach K-12 School Gerlach is a male forename of Germanic languages, Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other Germanic name, early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents p ...
. Ernest M. Johnson School, initially an elementary school in
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
, moved to the Gerlach High School site in Gerlach in 2001. - Despite the statement about the Gerlach campus opening in 2003, it states the addition was built in 2001 an
the Johnson School address changed to Gerlach, NV by 2001
/ref> By 2000 the school's address was already in Gerlach. Johnson became a K-12 school in 2011. Gerlach High, a grade 6-12 school, opened in 1931, and got a new building in 1955 as the original building was destroyed by a fire. - The document states the fire occurred in 1954 but this is contradicted by the newspaper article. The fire occurred in January 1955. Gerlach has a
public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...
, a branch of the Washoe County Library System, on the school property.


References


External links


Visit Gerlach/ Gerlach General Improvement District
{{authority control Census-designated places in Nevada Census-designated places in Washoe County, Nevada Nevada historical markers Reno, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area Populated places established in 1905 1905 establishments in Nevada