McGill is a

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 ...

(CDP) in White Pine County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 1,148 at the 2010 census.

History

In 1872, John Cowger established a ranch in the Steptoe Valley and acquired the water rights for the area. William Lyons and William McGill purchased the ranch in 1886. A post office was established at the ranch, now named McGill Ranch, in 1891. The Nevada Consolidated Copper Company had numerous mines in the region and was seeking a partner to create a smelter in the area. The Cumberland and Ely Mining Corporation had acquired of land near the ranch and thought it would be ideal for a smelter location due to access to a plentiful water source. The two companies formed a partnership, the Steptoe Valley Smelting and Mining Company. In 1906, a pipeline was built to bring water from Duck Creek to reservoirs near the smelter site and construction began on the smelter. The smelter was completed and operations began on May 15, 1908. The first copper was shipped from the smelter on August 7 of the same year. The town was briefly known as Smelter, before being renamed McGill, after the ranch. The population of the town grew from its inception to 1,904 in 1910 and 2,864 in 1920. Kennecott Utah Copper acquired Nevada Consolidated Copper Company, which included Steptoe Valley Smelting and Mining Company and the smelter at McGill in 1932. Up until the 1950s, McGill was a company town, owned by Kennecott. In the 1950s Kennecott started selling McGill's homes and businesses to individuals. In 1983, the price of copper along with the low grade ore being mined led to Kennecott closing the smelter and demolishing it. With the primary employer gone, the population of McGill decreased to its current levels.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

Demographics

At the 2000

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, there were 1,054 people, 448 households and 305 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 599 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.72%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.75% Native American, 2.3% Croatian, 0.19% Asian, 0.09%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 1.80% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 6.74% of the population. There were 448 households, of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.89. 24.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $32,039 and the median family income was $42,679. Males had a median income of $36,149 compared with $19,813 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $15,643. About 11.0% of families and 10.5% 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 ...

, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Climate

References

External links