Basques have been living in Northern Nevada for over a century and form a population of several thousand. Basque immigrants first came in the mid-1800s during the Gold rush. The Basques have also been closely-tied to sheep herding in Nevada and neighboring states.
The Basque-American culture is especially prominent in the town of Winnemucca. [1] [2] Basque immigrants to Winnemucca founded the Martin Hotel and the Winnemucca Hotel, both of which were associated with the Basque sheepherders. [3] [4]
The Basques are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous to, and primarily inhabit, an area traditionally known as the Basque Country —a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.
Nevada is a landlocked state in the Western region of the 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, the 32nd-most populous, and the ninth-least densely populated U.S. state. Nearly three-quarters of Nevada's population live in Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area, including three of the state's four largest incorporated cities. Nevada's capital is Carson City. Las Vegas is the largest city in the state.
Reno is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, in the Truckee River valley, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, it is about 23 miles (37 km) northeast of Lake Tahoe. Known as "The Biggest Little City in the World", it is the 80th most populous city in the United States, the 3rd most populous city in Nevada, and the most populous in Nevada outside the Las Vegas Valley. The city had a population of 264,165 at the 2020 census.
Goodsprings is an unincorporated community in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The Pioneer Saloon and the Goodsprings School house were both built in 1913 and are still in use to this day. The town was once a prosperous mining town before seeing a significant decline in the population. The population was 229 as of the 2010 census. Due to this, the town of Goodsprings has been characterized as a ghost town.
Winnemucca is the only incorporated city in, and is the county seat of Humboldt County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 8,431, up 14.0 percent from the 2010 census figure of 7,396. Interstate 80 passes through the city, where it meets U.S. Route 95.
Sarah Hopkins was a Northern Paiute writer, activist, lecturer, teacher, and school organizer. Her Northern Paiute name was Thocmentony, also spelled Tocmetone, which translates as "Shell Flower."
The University of Nevada, Reno is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, 1874, in Elko, Nevada.
Pyramid Lake is the geographic sink of the basin of the Truckee River, 40 mi (64 km) northeast of Reno, Nevada, United States.
Robert Laxalt was a Basque-American writer from Nevada.
George Stuart Nixon was an American entrepreneur and politician who served as a member of the United States Senate from Nevada.
Paradise Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Humboldt County, Nevada, United States, near the Santa Rosa Ranger District of Humboldt National Forest. It is located at the northern terminus of Nevada State Route 290, about 19 miles (31 km) northeast of U.S. Highway 95 and a total of 40 miles (64 km) north of Winnemucca. The town is located in a broad valley, with the Santa Rosa Range of mountains just to the northwest. At the 2010 census, the population of the CDP was 109.
Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps was an American architect. He was one of Nevada's most prolific architects, yet is notable for entering the architectural profession with no extensive formal training. He has also been known as Frederick J. DeLongchamps, and was described by the latter name in an extensive review of the historic importance of his works which led to many of them being listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in the 1980s.
Denio is a census-designated place (CDP) in Humboldt County, Nevada, along the Oregon state line in the United States. The Denio post office was originally north of the state line in Harney County, Oregon, but the residents moved the building into Nevada in the mid-20th century. The population of the CDP, which is entirely in Nevada, was 47 at the 2010 census; additional development considered to be Denio extends into Oregon. The CDP includes a post office, a community center, a library, and the Diamond Inn Bar, the center of the town's social life. Recreational activities in the Denio area include bird watching, photography, off-road vehicle use, fishing, recreational black opal mining, rockhounding, hunting, visiting the hot springs, and camping on the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge.
Basque Americans are Americans of Basque descent. According to the 2000 US census, there are 57,793 Americans of full or partial Basque descent.
The History of Nevada as a state began when it became the 36th state on October 31, 1864, after telegraphing the Constitution of Nevada to the Congress days before the November 8 presidential election. Statehood was rushed to help ensure three electoral votes for Abraham Lincoln's reelection and add to the Republican congressional majorities.
Benjamin Matthew Victor is an American sculptor living and working in Boise, Idaho. He is the only living artist to have three works in the National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol. He is currently sculpting his fourth statue for the Statuary Hall, of Daisy Bates. He was only 26 years old when his first statue, Sarah Winnemucca, a Paiute activist in Nevada, was dedicated in the Hall in 2005, making him the youngest artist to ever be represented in the Hall. In 2014, his sculpture of Norman Borlaug, "the father of the Green Revolution," was dedicated in the National Statuary Hall and in 2019, his statue of Chief Standing Bear, a Native American rights leader, was dedicated in the National Statuary Hall making him the only living artist to have three sculptures in the Hall.
George Wingfield was a Nevada cattleman and gambler who became a financier, investor and one of the state's most powerful economic and political figures during the period from 1909 to 1932. With future senator George S. Nixon as his mentor after he settled in Winnemucca in 1899, and fellow gambler John Hennessy as his partner in the mining boomtown of Tonopah after 1901, Wingfield rose from faro-dealer to become richest man in Nevada in less than five years.
Basque festivals, also known as Euskal jaiak, are festivals celebrating Basque culture, including Basque dance, Basque cuisine, Basque sports, and elements of Basque folklore. Basque festivals are organized in the United States of America in towns with an important population of Basque descendants, such as Elko, Reno, Winnemucca, Bakersfield, Chino, San Francisco, and Boise. The first Western Basque Festival was held in Sparks, Nevada, on June 6–7, 1956. Elko hosts one of the largest Basque Festivals in the United States, second only to Boise's world famous Jaialdi, held roughly every five years around the 4th of July weekend. Similar festivals are celebrated in Argentina and other countries where Basque diaspora is set. Basque festivals are also celebrated in the Basque Country: Euskal Jaiak celebrations in September in Donostia and Zarautz are famous.
Jungo is a ghost town located on Humboldt County Route 55, between Winnemucca, Nevada and Sulphur, Nevada. At one time, Jungo boasted a hotel, store, filling station and blacksmith's shop, though no buildings remain.