Formed November 25, 1861 (5th county)
Humboldt County (17,288), Winnemucca (8,399)
The 1921 Neo-Classical and Beaux Arts masonry building is located on Winnemucca Boulevard between Melarkey and Bridge streets. Winnemucca Boulevard is Interstate Highway 80 Business in the town. Frederic J. DeLongchamps provided the designs. A Public Safety Annex was added in 1976. There was an 1871 courthouse earlier. The county is an original county (5th county) founded on November 25, 1861. Unionville was the first county seat until 1873 when Winnemucca assumed the role. The county is named for the Humboldt River which is named for German Baron Friedrich Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt. Winnemucca is named for the Native American chief.
Humboldt County government consists of a manager, a sheriff, an attorney, a treasurer and a clerk (executive). It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.) Two District Court Judges and One Justice Court Judge serve Humboldt County (judicial.) Humboldt County is on the northern border with Oregon. Reno, Nevada is southwest and Boise, Idaho is northeast of the county. The county center is 66.3 miles Northwest of Winnemucca nearer Orovada. The county is surrounded clockwise by Oregon and Idaho and Elko, Lander, Pershing, and Washoe counties.
The area of the city is 9658 square miles. It is 4 out of 17 in the state. It ranks 9 out of 17 in population in the state. It has a density of 1.8 persons per square mile making it 10 out of 17 in the state. Humboldt County has 48.6% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 80 enters the county from the southeast, Lander County, and exits to the southwest, Pershing County. United States Highway 95 comes from Oregon, north, and joins Interstate Highway 80 into Pershing County. The county is a number 9 with a very short leg. Winnemucca is in the southeast quarter of the county. Winnemucca is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 48.6% of the county population. The county seat is pronounced WIN-E-MUK-KA.
