Austin, Nevada
Austin, Nevada | |
|---|---|
 Austin in 2004, looking east onU.S. Route 50 | |
  Austin Location within the state of Nevada | |
| Coordinates:39°29′31″N117°4′13″W/ 39.49194°N 117.07028°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| County | Lander |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.15 sq mi (2.98 km2) |
| • Land | 1.15 sq mi (2.98 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 6,555 ft (1,998 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 167 |
| • Density | 145.22/sq mi (56.05/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−8(Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7(PDT) |
| ZIP codes | 89310 |
| FIPS code | 32-03700 |
| GNISfeature ID | 2583910[2] |
| Reference no. | 8 |
Austinis anunincorporatedsmalltownin, and formercounty seatof,Lander County, Nevada,United States.[3][4]In 2020, thecensus-designated placeof Austin had a population of 167.[5]It is located on the western slopes of theToiyabe Rangeat an elevation of 6,575 feet (2,004 m).U.S. Route 50passes through the town.
History
[edit]The Austin area was originally occupied by bands of theWestern Shoshonepeople. The city of Austin was mapped out in 1862 by David Buell.[6]This was during theAmerican Civil War,and the Union was eager to find new sources of precious metals, especially gold, to support the war effort. The city was named after Buell's partner, Alvah Austin, during asilver rush.The valued metal was reputedly found when aPony Expresshorse kicked over a rock and observers noticed the silver.[7]In 1862, it was designated as thecounty seatof Lander County.[8](In 1979, after the center of population had shifted, the county seat was shifted toBattle Mountain.) By summer 1863, Austin and the surroundingReese River Mining Districthad a population of more than 10,000, mostly European Americans attracted to the silver boom. In January 1864, a petition was created to combineClifton,Austin and Upper Austin into the "City of Austin." The Governor signed the bill in February 1864.[9] In 1864, the town launchedReuel Colt Gridley's impromptu fundraising drive that raised over $250,000 for wounded Civil War veterans, by repeatedly auctioning a sack of flour.
TheNevada Central Railroadwas built to connect Austin with thetranscontinental railroadat Battle Mountain in 1880. However, by that time the silver boom was almost over. The city was disincorporated in 1881.[4]Major silver production ended by 1887, although there was a slight revival in the 1910s. In the mid-1950s there was a great deal of interest inuraniumdeposits in the area, to fuel the emerging nuclear industry, but the ore proved to be of low quality.
Gold and silver mining has continued in the area sporadically and at generally low levels of production. High qualityturquoiseis still mined in the area in small quantities. Several shops manufacture jewelry from local turquoise.
Geography
[edit]The Austinsilverdeposits consist of numerous narrow (often only several inches in width)quartzveinshosted inmonzoniterock. The mainoreminerals aresulfidesthat contain silver, including large quantities ofgalenaandtetrahedrite.Oxidized ore, which was very shallow, included silver chloride (chlorargyrite) which was easily reduced to metallic silver, although these oxidized deposits were exhausted quickly. The deeper sulfide (hypogene) ore was much more difficult to work and had to be roasted prior to amalgamation. Milling and concentration was used to separate the silver-containing sulfides from the barren quartz. Because of the added expense of this kind of processing along with the narrow veins, only high grade ores could be profitably worked in Austin.
The Austin veins are of an older age and were formed at a greater depth than many other silver districts in Nevada, such as theepithermalveins of Virginia City (Comstock Lode). In addition, the value of the Austin ores was largely (with several exceptions) silver (with significant base metals (lead, zinc and copper)) with very little gold, whereas most epithermal veins have highly significantgold.
Climate
[edit]Austin experiences a coldsemi-arid climate(KöppenBSk) with cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers.
| Climate data for Austin, Nevada (Elevation 6,605ft) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 65 (18) |
70 (21) |
78 (26) |
83 (28) |
93 (34) |
98 (37) |
105 (41) |
100 (38) |
97 (36) |
86 (30) |
75 (24) |
70 (21) |
105 (41) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 40.3 (4.6) |
43.2 (6.2) |
48.2 (9.0) |
56.3 (13.5) |
65.6 (18.7) |
76.4 (24.7) |
86.5 (30.3) |
84.7 (29.3) |
75.2 (24.0) |
63.4 (17.4) |
49.9 (9.9) |
41.7 (5.4) |
61.0 (16.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 19.0 (−7.2) |
21.4 (−5.9) |
25.0 (−3.9) |
30.6 (−0.8) |
37.8 (3.2) |
45.7 (7.6) |
54.2 (12.3) |
53.0 (11.7) |
45.1 (7.3) |
35.9 (2.2) |
26.7 (−2.9) |
20.5 (−6.4) |
34.6 (1.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −25 (−32) |
−18 (−28) |
−6 (−21) |
3 (−16) |
10 (−12) |
23 (−5) |
31 (−1) |
28 (−2) |
18 (−8) |
2 (−17) |
−7 (−22) |
−20 (−29) |
−25 (−32) |
| Averageprecipitationinches (mm) | 1.19 (30) |
1.14 (29) |
1.49 (38) |
1.54 (39) |
1.60 (41) |
0.85 (22) |
0.53 (13) |
0.55 (14) |
0.56 (14) |
0.85 (22) |
0.86 (22) |
1.14 (29) |
12.31 (313) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 9.6 (24) |
8.5 (22) |
11.2 (28) |
8.4 (21) |
3.7 (9.4) |
0.4 (1.0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.4 (1.0) |
1.8 (4.6) |
4.8 (12) |
8.8 (22) |
57.6 (146) |
| Source: The Western Regional Climate Center[10] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
[edit]| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 1,324 | — | |
| 1880 | 1,679 | 26.8% | |
| 1890 | 1,215 | −27.6% | |
| 1900 | 702 | −42.2% | |
| 1910 | 755 | 7.5% | |
| 1920 | 666 | −11.8% | |
| 1930 | 661 | −0.8% | |
| 1940 | 580 | −12.3% | |
| 1950 | 419 | −27.8% | |
| 1960 | 389 | −7.2% | |
| 1990 | 990 | — | |
| 2000 | 468 | −52.7% | |
| 2010 | 192 | −59.0% | |
| 2020 | 167 | −13.0% | |
| [11] | |||
In 1863 Austin had a permanent and transient population of about 7,000.[12]With the end of gold and silver mining in the region, the population has steadily declined.
Attractions
[edit]
Austin is a "livingghost town",a well-preserved example of an early Nevada mining town. It contains four churches; both theCatholicchurch and theAustin Methodist Churchwere built in 1866. The Methodist Church is now used as a community center. The Catholic Church,St. Augustine's,has been purchased and is being restored as a cultural center for Central Nevada. TheEpiscopalchurch,dedicated to St. Georgeand considered by some to be the prettiest frontier church still standing, was built in 1878 and is still in regular use. These three churches are listed asNevada Historical Marker67.[13]
The fourth church is a more recent building built bythe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.TheInternational Hotel,first built inVirginia Cityin 1859 and moved to Austin in 1863, still serves meals and drinks, but it does not rent out rooms (there is a motel across the street). The International Hotel is said to be the oldest in Nevada. Austin contains numerous other historical buildings, in various states of repair.
Stokes Castle,an Italian-style three-story stone tower, is located just outside Austin. It was built in 1897 byAnson Phelps Stokes,a wealthyNew Yorkcapitalist who had a financial interest in several of the local mines. It was occupied only for a month. Vacant and abandoned, it fell into disrepair.
In addition to Stokes Castle and the three churches, a number of other structures in Austin are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.These include theAustin Cemetery,theold city hall,theAustin Masonic and Odd Fellows Hall,theGridley Store,the formerLander County Courthouse,andLander County High School,as well as theAustin Historic District.Toquima Cave,an archeological and prehistoric site near the town, is also listed on the Register.
Approximately 15 miles (24 km) east of Austin is a cluster of natural hot springs maintained by visitors and local volunteers. TheHickison Petroglyph Recreation Area,24 miles (39 km) east of Austin, features a short interpretive trail where visitors can see ancient drawings carved into the rocks.[14]
Government
[edit]Austin is the headquarters of thefederally recognizedYomba Shoshone Tribe of the Yomba Reservation.[15]
Infrastructure
[edit]Austin has apublic library,a branch of the Elko-Lander-Eureka County Library System.[16]
In popular culture
[edit]- In theLucky LukebookLe Fil qui chante,the caravan makes a stop at Austin to restock on telegraph poles.[17]
- The town features in the 1971 cult movie "Vanishing Point."
See also
[edit]
- J.S. Slauson,former mayor
References
[edit]- ^"ArcGIS REST Services Directory".United States Census Bureau.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
- ^abU.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Austin, Nevada
- ^"Lander County Code of Ordinances - Section 8.16.010 - Definitions".Municode.RetrievedOctober 15,2017.
- ^ab"Official Opinions of the Attorney General - 1947 - Opinion No. 47-480 - Corporations"(PDF).Attorney General of Nevada. p. 96.RetrievedOctober 15,2017.
- ^"Austin CCD, Lander County, Nevada".data.census.gov.U.S. Census Bureau.RetrievedOctober 19,2021.
- ^Carlson, Helen S. (January 1, 1974).Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary.University of Nevada Press. p. 43.ISBN978-0-87417-094-8.RetrievedFebruary 9,2019.
- ^"Austin and Reese River Mining District",Online Nevada
- ^Federal Writers' Project (1941).Origin of Place Names: Nevada(PDF).W.P.A. p. 40.
- ^Angel, Myron (1881).History of Lander County.Archived fromthe originalon July 14, 2014.
- ^"Seasonal Temperature and Precipitation Information".Western Regional Climate Center.RetrievedMay 3,2013.
- ^"Nevada Place Names Population 1860-2000".blackrockdesert.org.RetrievedMay 13,2021.
- ^Paher, Stanley W. (1970).Nevada Ghost Towns & Mining Camps.Berkeley, CA: Howell-North. p. 166.
- ^"Nevada Historical Markers".Nevada State Historic Preservation Office. Archived fromthe originalon February 4, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 23,2013.
- ^"Camping on Public Lands".Bureau of Land Management. March 22, 2013.RetrievedApril 21,2013.
- ^"Nevada Tribes."500 Nations.(retrieved 5 May 2010)
- ^"Nevada Public Libraries".PublicLibraries.RetrievedJune 14,2019.
- ^Andersen, Jim (2009).Lost in Austin, A Nevada Memoir.University of Nevada Press. p. 147.ISBN978-0-87417-787-9.
External links
[edit]
Municipalities and communities ofLander County, Nevada,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Unincorporated towns |  | |
| Ghost towns | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
