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Lander County Nevada Exploration Guide

Lander County Nevada

Lander County Nevada Overview

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Year Established/Founded

1862

Lander County Nevada History

Created under an act approved on December 19, 1862, boundary changes were made on February 20, 1864, March 1, 1866, March 5, 1869, and March 7, 1873.

Once Nevada was granted statehood in 1864, Lander County was one of the nine original counties formed. Known as the “Mother of Counties, the Nevada counties of Elko County, Eureka County, and White Pine County were formed from it. 

The county seat was to be decided by the legal voters at a general election to be held on the first Wednesday in September 1863. Meanwhile, Jacob Springs (Jacobsville) was the temporary seat. The election made Austin the permanent county seat. 

It was named in honor of General Frederick W. Lander, mentioned in the history of the Indian War of 1860, who was the chief engineer in charge of the construction, by the US Government, of a wagon road across Nevada. He died as a Brigadier General in 1862 in Virginia during the Civil War. 

Timeline

  • 1862 – Lander County was created and sprang forth as the result of a mining boom on the Reese River, along the old pony express line; taking a considerable portion of Churchill and Humboldt counties with it. 
  • Spring 1862 – Its first county seat was Jacob’s Spring in 1862.
  • 1863 – County seat moved to Austin.
  • 1979 – County seat moved to Battle Mountain.

The population of Lander County Nevada

As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,734.

National Register of Historic Places

Below are the National Register of Historic Places located in Lander County, Nevada, and the location of each.

  1. Austin Cemetery – August 14, 2003 Northern and southern sides of U.S. Route 50 near its junction with State Route 305 – Austin
  2. Austin City Hall – August 14, 2003 90 South St. – Austin
  3. Austin Historic District – November 23, 1971 In Pony Canyon at the junction of State Route 8A and U.S. Route 50 – Austin
  4. Austin Masonic and Odd Fellows Hall – August 14, 2003 105 Main St. – Austin
  5. Austin Methodist Church – August 14, 2003 135 Court St. – Austin
  6. Gridley Store – August 14, 2003 247 Water St. – Austin
  7. Lander County Courthouse – August 14, 2003 122 Main St. – Austin
  8. Lander County High School – July 20, 2000 130 6th St. – Austin
  9. Nevada Central Turntable – August 14, 2003 Off Austin Roping Arena Rd. on the southern side of U.S. Route 50 – Austin
  10. St. Augustine’s Catholic Church – August 14, 2003 113 Virginia St. – Austin
  11. St. George’s Episcopal Church – August 14, 2003 156 Main St. – Austin
  12. Stokes Castle – August 14, 2003 Along U.S. Route 50 west of Austin – Austin
  13. Toquima Cave – April 4, 2002 Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest – Austin 

Historical Points of Interest in Lander County Nevada

Nevada Historical Markers in Lander County Nevada

Lander County is home to ten Nevada Historical Markers.

As we visit each we will link the articles below for you to learn more about the history of the site the marker represents.

  1. #8 Austin 
  2. #59 Stokes Castle 
  3. #66 Jacobsville 
  4. #67 Austin Churches 
  5. #95 Battle Mountain 
  6. #119 Reuel Colt Gridley 
  7. #136 Toquima Cave 
  8. #137 Hickison Summit 
  9. #176 The Surveyors (Nevada) 
  10. #208 International Hotel 

Towns in Lander County Nevada

Lander County has no incorporated communities. The following places are located in Lander County:

Census-designated places

  1. Austin
  2. Battle Mountain (county seat)
  3. Kingston

Unincorporated community

  1. Pittsburg

Ghost Towns in Lander County, Nevada

  1. Amador
  2. Argenta
  3. Austin
  4. Bailey
  5. Bannock
  6. Battle Mountain
  7. Betty Oneal
  8. Bridges
  9. Buckingham Camp
  10. Bunker Hill
  11. Burro
  12. Buzanes Camp
  13. Canyon
  14. Canyon City
  15. Catons
  16. Clifton
  17. Clinton
  18. Copper Basin
  19. Copper Canyon
  20. Cortez
  21. Curtis
  22. Dillon
  23. Dry Creek Station
  24. Frisbie
  25. Galena
  26. Geneva
  27. Gold Acres
  28. Grass Valley
  29. Guadalajara
  30. Gweenah
  31. Hilltop
  32. Hot Springs
  33. Jacobsville
  34. Kingston
  35. Lander
  36. Ledlie
  37. Lewis
  38. McCoy
  39. Mound Springs
  40. Mount Airy
  41. Mud Springs
  42. New Pass
  43. Pittsburgh
  44. Ravenswood
  45. Silver Creek
  46. Simpson Park
  47. Skookum
  48. Smith Creek Station
  49. Starr
  50. Telluride
  51. Tenabo
  52. Trenton
  53. Vaughns
  54. Walters
  55. Yankee Blade

Click here to view Ghost Towns in Nevada.

Adjacent Counties

Lander County, Nevada Landforms

Lakes in Lander County, Nevada

  • Alkali Lake 

Mountains in Lander County, Nevada Bunker Hill is the highest mountain in Lander County, within the Toiyabe Range of central Nevada, United States. It is the twenty-second highest mountain in the state. The peak is located within the Austin Ranger District of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, about 17 miles south of the small town of Austin and just northwest of the small town of Kingston.

  1. Augusta Mountains
  2. Battle Mountains, Nevada
  3. Fish Creek Mountains
  4. New Pass Range
  5. Sheep Creek Range
  6. Shoshone Range
  7. Simpson Park Mountains
  8. Toiyabe Range

Lincoln County, Nevada Landforms

Canyons in Lincoln County, Nevada

  • Rainbow Canyon 
  • White River Narrows

Lakes in Lincoln County, Nevada

  • Delamar Dry Lake
  • Dog Bone Lake
  • Groom Lake (salt flat)
  • Papoose Lake

Major Roads

  • Interstate 80
  • Interstate 80 Business (Battle Mountain)
  • U.S. Route 50
  • State Route 304
  • State Route 305
  • State Route 306
  • State Route 376
  • State Route 722
  • State Route 806

References Used

  1. Wikipedia – Lander County, Nevada

Lander County Nevada