Eureka, Nevada | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname: The Friendliest Town on The Loneliest Road[1] | |
  Eureka Location in Nevada Show map of Nevada Eureka Location in the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:39°30′20″N115°57′52″W / 39.50556°N 115.96444°W /39.50556; -115.96444 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| County | Eureka |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.29 sq mi (3.35 km2) |
| • Land | 1.29 sq mi (3.35 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 6,674 ft (2,034 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 414 |
| • Density | 320.4/sq mi (123.71/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code | 89316 |
| FIPS code | 32-23900 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2583922[3] |
Eureka is anunincorporated town andcensus-designated place in and thecounty seat ofEureka County,Nevada, United States.[4][5][6] With a population of 414 as of the 2020 United States census,[7] it is the second-largest community in Eureka County. Attractions include theEureka Opera House (built in 1880 and restored in 1993), Raine’s Market and Wildlife Museum (built 1887), the Jackson House Hotel (built 1877), and theEureka Sentinel Museum (housed in the 1879Eureka Sentinel Newspaper Building).
Eureka is part of theElkoMicropolitan Statistical Area.
Eureka is located in the southern part of Eureka County, at 6,481 feet (1,975 m) in theDiamond Mountains, in a draw on the southern end of Diamond Valley, betweenAntelope andNewark valleys. At the 2018 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the population of thecensus-designated place of Eureka was 480,[7] while the total population of Eureka and the surrounding area (Eureka CCD, Eureka County, Nevada) was 1,313.[8]
The town is located along theLincoln Highway /U.S. Route 50, nicknamed "The Loneliest Road in America": aptly named, as the nearest towns along the highway areAustin (70 mi or 110 km west) andEly (77 mi or 124 km east). The nearest town isDuckwater, 46 mi (74 km) south.
The climate is typical of theGreat Basin: hot and dry with cool mornings in the summer with occasionalmonsoonal thunderstorms from late July through August; cold and relatively dry in the winter. Temperatures drop to 0 °F or −17.8 °C or lower on an average 3.2 mornings during the winter, though in the severe winter of 1916/1917 this happened twenty-five times. They drop to 32 °F or 0 °C on an average 185.5 mornings, though maximum temperatures top freezing on all but 30.8 days during an average winter. During the summer temperatures rise to 90 °F or 32.2 °C or hotter on 12.5 afternoons, though 100 °F or 37.8 °C does not occur annually. However, the hottest temperature was 110 °F or 43.3 °C on July 22, 1904. Snow accumulations vary from 10 to 30 inches (0.25 to 0.76 m) in mild winters to in excess of 80 inches (2.03 m) in more severe years; in the winter of 1906/1907, more than 150 inches or 3.81 metres of snow fell.
The wettest calendar year has been 1941 with 23.86 inches (606.0 mm) and the driest 2020 with 4.18 inches (106.2 mm), whilst May 1917 with 5.73 inches (145.5 mm) has been the wettest single month. The snowiest month has been March 1902 with 54.0 inches or 1.37 metres of fresh snowfall.
Under theKöppen climate classification, Eureka has acold semi-arid (BSk).
| Climate data for Eureka, Nevada, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1888–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 65 (18) | 65 (18) | 75 (24) | 87 (31) | 95 (35) | 100 (38) | 110 (43) | 105 (41) | 109 (43) | 100 (38) | 81 (27) | 66 (19) | 110 (43) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 51.3 (10.7) | 54.6 (12.6) | 64.8 (18.2) | 73.1 (22.8) | 80.6 (27.0) | 88.9 (31.6) | 93.6 (34.2) | 91.0 (32.8) | 85.9 (29.9) | 76.9 (24.9) | 65.1 (18.4) | 53.1 (11.7) | 94.2 (34.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 37.6 (3.1) | 40.2 (4.6) | 48.4 (9.1) | 54.9 (12.7) | 64.7 (18.2) | 76.7 (24.8) | 85.6 (29.8) | 84.1 (28.9) | 74.7 (23.7) | 61.7 (16.5) | 47.7 (8.7) | 37.3 (2.9) | 59.5 (15.2) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 27.8 (−2.3) | 29.7 (−1.3) | 36.4 (2.4) | 41.7 (5.4) | 50.6 (10.3) | 60.6 (15.9) | 69.4 (20.8) | 68.2 (20.1) | 59.4 (15.2) | 47.5 (8.6) | 36.0 (2.2) | 27.3 (−2.6) | 46.2 (7.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 18.0 (−7.8) | 19.3 (−7.1) | 24.3 (−4.3) | 28.6 (−1.9) | 36.4 (2.4) | 44.4 (6.9) | 53.2 (11.8) | 52.3 (11.3) | 44.1 (6.7) | 33.3 (0.7) | 24.3 (−4.3) | 17.3 (−8.2) | 33.0 (0.5) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 0.4 (−17.6) | 3.3 (−15.9) | 10.1 (−12.2) | 16.7 (−8.5) | 24.5 (−4.2) | 32.0 (0.0) | 43.8 (6.6) | 42.6 (5.9) | 31.4 (−0.3) | 17.9 (−7.8) | 6.8 (−14.0) | 0.2 (−17.7) | −4.5 (−20.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −26 (−32) | −23 (−31) | −10 (−23) | 5 (−15) | 10 (−12) | 11 (−12) | 29 (−2) | 30 (−1) | 5 (−15) | 0 (−18) | −10 (−23) | −21 (−29) | −26 (−32) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 0.85 (22) | 1.28 (33) | 1.34 (34) | 1.36 (35) | 1.18 (30) | 0.49 (12) | 0.46 (12) | 0.64 (16) | 0.78 (20) | 0.83 (21) | 0.79 (20) | 0.86 (22) | 10.86 (277) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 8.8 (22) | 11.9 (30) | 7.4 (19) | 4.5 (11) | 0.8 (2.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.6 (1.5) | 3.4 (8.6) | 9.8 (25) | 47.3 (119.35) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 6.4 | 5.4 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 6.4 | 55.1 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 3.3 | 14.0 |
| Source 1: NOAA[9] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[10] | |||||||||||||
The town was first settled in 1864 by a group of silver prospectors from nearby Austin, who discovered rock containing a silver-lead ore on nearby Prospect Peak. According to tradition, the town was named from an incident when a prospector exclaimed "Eureka!" when he discovered deposits of silver ore.[11] The town became the county seat in 1873, when Eureka County was carved out of adjacent Lander, Elko, and White Pine counties.
The city rapidly grew throughout the1870s. The Napias Post Office opened briefly in January 1870 and Eureka Post Office opened that same month. In July, theEureka Sentinel began publication. By 1875, Eureka had become a major hub forstagecoaches to many other mining towns in rural, Northeastern Nevada. In 1878, the town's population had reached 9,000 (the second largest in Nevada at the time), and there were manycasinos,saloons, and many other businesses. However, production began to slow in 1880, and the population significantly dropped. In the mines, water was discovered so expensive pumps were required to continue mining activities. Silver prices dropped in 1890 and the smelters for ores closed.[12]
Mining, especially forlead, was the town's economic mainstay,[13] as the nearby hillsides ranked as Nevada's second-richest mineral producer, behind western Nevada'sComstock Lode. Two of the largest concerns in Eureka were the Richmond Mining Company and the Eureka Mining Company. These two companies often collided, and in one instance, their litigation reached theU.S Supreme Court.[14]
The town was serviced by the narrow gaugeEureka and Palisade Railroad from 1873 to 1938.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 414 | — | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[15] | |||
Eureka is served by an all-volunteer fire department, which provides fire protection, rescue, and vehicle rescue services for Eureka and the surrounding areas. In 2009 a new brick and steel fire house was built on Main Street in Eureka. At the time of its building it was the second largest fire house in the state. In addition to being a modern fire fighting facility, it contains a museum of Eureka fire department equipment and vehicles dating back to the 1870s. The fire-museum may be viewed through the large glass windows, or a tour may be taken by contacting a local fireman.
Eureka boasts three parks, a modern enclosed swimming facility, two baseball fields, a track, and football field.
The 1880s Eureka Opera House was re-modeled in recent times and regularly schedules performers.[16]
The 1876 Eureka Court House is both historic and modern. It stands as the functioning governmental and legal center of Eureka County.
Eureka County School District is the local school district.
Eureka has apublic library, a branch of the Elko-Lander-Eureka County Library System.[17]
Municipalities and communities ofEureka County, Nevada,United States | ||
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| CDPs |  | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
