Wells is a small city in Elko County, in northeast

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 population was 1,292 at the 2010 census. Wells is located at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 93, approximately east of Elko and is part of the Elko micropolitan area.

History

The site of Wells began as a place called Humboldt Wells along the trail to California. It was subsequently founded as a railroad town along the original

Transcontinental Railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous rail transport, railroad trackage that crosses a continent, continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via the Ra ...

, and was once a stopover for passenger trains. 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 ...

has its source in springs and a swampy area just west of the city that today is called Humboldt Wells. In 1877, Humboldt Wells was burning down, and in a frantic plea for help, a telegraph was sent that said, "Wells is burning". After this the town was rebuilt and simply referred to as 'Wells'. Humboldt River Papa 2

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred near Wells at 6:16 A.M. on February 21, 2008. Because of its proximity to the

epicenter The epicenter (), epicentre, or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Determination The primary purpose of a ...

, Wells experienced significant damage. The earthquake originated below the surface, with its epicenter only distant from Wells, at 41.077 N, 114.752 W.

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 city has a total area of , all land, at an elevation of . Wells is located by the intersection of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 93.

Climate

Demographics

As of the

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 ...

of 2000, there were 1,346 people, 525 households, and 352 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 633 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 80.24%

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 ...

, 6.76% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.15%

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 ...

, 9.06% from other races, and 3.49% 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 19.47% of the population. There were 525 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.14. In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.3% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,870, and the median income for a family was $41,827. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $20,852 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 city was $16,835. About 8.6% of families and 11.9% 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 18.9% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in Wells is administered by Elko County School District. The district operates one elementary school and Wells High School. Wells has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending 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 servic ...

, a branch of the Elko-Lander-Eureka County Library System.

Notable people

* Mae Caine, suffragist and women's rights activist, civic leader, and government officialReno, Mona. �
Mae Caine
” in “Nevada Women’s History Project.” Reno, Nevada: Nevada Suffrage Centennial, retrieved online June 18, 2021.

References

External links

Wells Chamber of Commerce

Elko County

Wells High School
{{authority control Cities in Elko County, Nevada Cities in Nevada Elko, Nevada micropolitan area