Welcome to Washoe County!
In January 1844 John Fremont traveling south from Oregon with his second exploration party discovered and named Pyramid Lake, going as far south as the mouth of Truckee River, which he named Trout River. The Stevens-Donner Route, or Truckee route, was opened in 1844 by the Stevens-Murphy party. The route crossed the desert from the Humboldt Sink to the Truckee River. The Stevens-Murphy party follewed the river to Truckee Pass on their way to crossing the Sierra Nevada. That part is the first known to have taken the Truckee River route to California and to have taken wagons across the Sierra Nevada. In 1846 the Applegate Trail was opened from Rogue River in Oregon into Nevada, crossing the Black Rock Desert and connecting with the Humboldt Route near present-day Mill City in Pershing County. This route later became part of the Lassen and Nobles' trail. In the early '50's, the continued migration to California attracted some settlers to the Truckee Meadows. The 1860 census counted 58 families and 543 people within the limits of what was to become Washoe County. 1
In 1874 Washoe county was described: "along the base of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and is one of the most important agricultural counties of the state. Several mining districts have been located, and coal and galena have been found. Extensive forests of pine cover the east range of the Sierra Nevada, which crosses this county, and yield valuable lumber. Hot springs are abundant in several localities. This county includes the famous Comstock Vein, the most valuable deposit of silver ores thus far found in our country." 2
Washoe County was created in 1861 as one of the original nine counties of the Nevada Territory. It is named after the Washoe people who originally inhabited the area. It was consolidated with Roop County (which was originally Lake County) in 1864. Washoe City was the first county seat in 1861 and was replaced by Reno in 1871. Reno is still the county seat. Washoe County includes the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area.
As of the 2010 census, the Washoe County population was 421,407 and it had a total area of 6,551 square miles of which 6,342 square miles was land and 209 square miles was water.
Cities are Reno and Sparks. Census designated places are Cold Springs, Crystal Bay, Empire, Gerlach, Incline Village, Mogul, Nixon, Sutcliffe, Verdi and Wadsworth. Also located in this county is Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation and part of the Sheldon National Wildlife Rufuge.
Census
Geography
History Index
Military Records
Sources
1Truckee History from County Clerk's Office
21874 Centennial Gazette
Wikipedia
The background tartan in the footer logo is the Nevada State Tartan, adopted in 2001.
The American History and Genealogy Project (AHGP), an unincorporated not-for-profit network of independent sites devoted to History & Genealogy, and covering North American Countries and Territories. For more information about our group, including how you can join us, please see our About page.
Webspace for this site is generously provided by Genealogy Village and Access Genealogy
Copyright © 2014 - Sharon McConnel. All Rights Reserved.