Lamoille is a rural

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

in Elko County in the northeastern section of the state of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

in the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

. As of the a 2019 census estimate, it had a population of 276. It is located southeast of Elko at the base of the

Ruby Mountains The Ruby Mountains (Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: 'Duka Doya', meaning “Snowcapped”) are a mountain range, primarily located within Elko County, Nevada, Elko County with a small extension into White Pine County, Nevada, White Pine County, in ...

and is part of the Elko Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The early history of the community and surrounding area is summarized in a nearby highway marker:

''LAMOILLE VALLEY - Because heavy use denuded the grass from the main Fort Hall route of the California Emigrant Trail along the
Humboldt River The Humboldt River is the longest river in the northern and central part of Nevada. It extends in a general east-to-west direction from its headwaters in northern Nevada's Jarbidge Mountains, Jarbidge, Independence Mountains, Independence, and ...
, many emigrants left the river near Starr Valley. They skirted the East Humboldt Range and the Ruby Mountains along a Shoshone Indian path, rested their livestock in Lamoille Valley, and returned to the Humboldt River.'' ''John Walker and Thomas Waterman first settled the area in 1865. Waterman named the valley after his native
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
. In 1868, Walker erected the Cottonwood Hotel, store and blacksmith shop in the valley, and the settlement became known as "The Crossroads." Here wagons were repaired and food and supplies could be obtained. The original buildings and the more recent 20-bedroom Lamoille hotel, creamery, flour mill and dance hall are gone.''

Lamoille is located on the western flanks of the

at the end of

Nevada State Route 227 State Route 227 (SR 227), most of which is more commonly known locally as Lamoille Highway, is a state highway in Elko County, Nevada, Elko County in northeastern Nevada. Route description SR 227 starts at Nevada State Route 535, SR 535/Inte ...

, and is the principal gateway to this range via the

National Forest Scenic Byway The National Forest Scenic Byways are roads that have been designated by the U.S. Forest Service as scenic byways. Many are also National Scenic Byways (NSB). The program was initiated in 1987. List The following roadways were listed by the Fede ...

up Lamoille Canyon. In 1907 a small church was constructed on the east side of the community, and is still in use today. Former

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

president and good friend of

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

Frank Wells Franklin G. Wells (March 4, 1932 – April 3, 1994) was an American businessman who served as President and Chief Operating Officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until his death in 1994. Life and career Wells was born in Coronado, Califo ...

, died in a helicopter crash here in the Nevada

Demographics

Climate

Gallery

File:2014-05-06 09 39 22 Snow at the Hotel Lamoille in Lamoille, Nevada.JPG, Snow at the Hotel Lamoille File:2014-11-11 16 07 17 Cattle near the north end of Lamoille Canyon Road near Lamoille, Nevada.JPG, Cattle near Lamoille Canyon Road File:Lamoille Canyon, 2009.jpg, Lamoille Canyon

References

External links