Winnemucca, Nevada

Winnemucca, Nevada
City
Winnemucca cemetery with a sign reading: "Welcome to Winnemucca, Proud of it!"
Location of Winnemucca, Nevada
Country	United States
State	Nevada
Government
• Mayor	Dee Ann Putnam
Area
• Total	8.3 sq mi (21.4 km2)
• Land	8.3 sq mi (21.4 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	4,295 ft (1,309 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	7,174
• Density	867.5/sq mi (334.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes	89445-89446
Area code	775
FIPS code	32-84800
GNIS feature ID	0844996

Winnemucca (Win-ah-muc-ah) is the county seat of Humboldt County in the U.S. state of Nevada and the site of a September 19, 1900 bank robbery by Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 7,174. Interstate 80 passes through the city, and is the site of a split/join of I-80 and U.S. Route 95.

The town is also referenced in the North American version of the song "I've Been Everywhere", originally recorded by Hank Snow, and more recently covered by Johnny Cash. The song opens with the narrator walking "the dusty Winnemucca road" and accepting a ride to Winnemucca. However, we never do find out if he actually makes it to Winnemucca, as he spends the rest of the song listing the dozens and dozens (91 in total) of other places he's been.

Winnemucca is featured prominently in the novel Revoltingly Young by C.D. Payne, and is also a setting in More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin, where one character finds employment as a receptionist in a local brothel. It gives its name to the 2002 album by Richmond Fontaine, the alt-country band from Portland, Oregon.

According to a billboard spotted along State Route 140 (the "Winnemucca To the Sea Highway"), Winnemucca styles itself "The City by Battle Mountain" (the song referenced above talks about the hitchhiker walking along "the dusty Winnemucca road").

Geography and Climate

Winnemucca is located at 40°58'6" North, 117°43'36" West (40.968212, -117.726662)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.3 square miles (21.4 km²), none of which is covered by water. However, the Humboldt River flows within its city limits.

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Rec High °F	68	74	81	90	98	106	109	108	103	91	77	67
Norm High °F	41.6	48.5	55.1	62.6	72	82.7	92.2	90.6	80.4	67.3	51.4	42.2
Norm Low °F	18.5	23.6	27	30.7	38.4	45.8	51.8	49.2	40.2	30.2	23.3	17
Rec Low °F	-24	-28	-3	6	10	23	29	28	12	-2	-8	-37
Precip (in)	0.83	0.62	0.86	0.85	1.06	0.69	0.27	0.35	0.53	0.66	0.8	0.81
Source: USTravelWeather.com [1]

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 7,174 people in the city, organized into 2,736 households, and 1,824 families. The population density is 867.5 people per square mile (334.9/km²). There are 3,280 housing units at an average density of 396.6/sq mi (153.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 83.41% White, 2.23% African American, 0.89% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 9.60% from other races, and 3.51% from two or more races. 20.74% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of 2000 Winnemucca was the place in the United States with the highest percentage of Basques with 4.2% of its population reporting Basque ancestry.

There are 2,736 households out of which 37.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% are married couples living toget<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Lupin/navpop.css&action=raw&ctype=text/css&dontcountme=s">her, 8.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% are non-families. 27.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.60 and the average family size is 3.21.

In the city the population is spread out with 30.2% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 105.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 104.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $46,699, and the median income for a family is $53,681. Males have a median income of $47,917 versus $26,682 for females. The per capita income for the city is $21,441. 9.5% of the population and 7.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.8% of those under the age of 18 and 8.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Transportation

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Winnemucca. The Winnemucca passenger rail station, at 209 West Railroad Street, is unstaffed and on-site ticket sales are not available.

Historically, Winnemucca was a station on the Transcontinental Railroad.

Winnemucca is the half-way point between Salt Lake City and San Francisco.

Employment

Most of Winnemucca's residents are employed directly by mining companies or mining vendors and contractors, or by the many casinos, bars and hotels in town.

Education

Humboldt County School District operates schools serving Winnemucca.

Three K-4 elementary schools, Grass Valley, Sonoma Heights, and Winnemucca Grammar School, serve sections of Winnemucca. All of Winnemucca is zoned to French Ford Middle School (5-6), Winnemucca Junior High School (7-8), and Albert M. Lowry High School (9-12).

References

• Chew, James R. "Boyhood Days in Winnemucca, 1901-1910." Nevada Historical Society Quarterly 1998 41(3): 206-209. ISSN 0047-9462 Oral history (1981) describes the Chinatown of Winnemucca, Nevada, during 1901-10. Though many Chinese left Winnemucca after the Central Pacific Railroad was completed in 1869, around four hundred Chinese had formed a community in the town by the 1890s. Among the prominent buildings was the Joss House, a place of worship and celebration that was visited by Chinese president Sun Yat-Sen in 1911. Beyond describing the physical layout of the Chinatown, the author recalls some of the commercial and gambling activities in the community.

• In the commentary for the 2001 film Joy Ride, Leelee Sobieski mentions eating cabbage soup in Winnemucca during production.

• Mentioned at the beginning of the Johnny Cash Song "I've Been Everywhere"
• Mentioned in the Sublime song "April 29, 1992".

External links

• Winnemucca Official Site
• Official State of Nevada Tourism Site
• Winnemucca Blog