McDERMITT

Long time residents liken their place to "a modern ghost town."

The present day is amply represented by the 24-hour Say When Casino, two motels, and bars like the Desert Inn and the Orovada.

The old McDermitt Jail can be opened up and people are allowed inside for pictures. We promise that if we put you in jail... we will let you out.

Located on U.S. 95, at the tip of the Silver State and very near the confluence of Nevada, Oregon and Idaho, this pleasant little town always has been an outpost. Born as a cavalry station during a time of turmoil between settlers and Native Americans, the town was named for Colonel McDermitt, the commander of the fort, who lost his life in a scuffle with the indigenous residents.

Both the town and the nearby reservation bear McDermitt's name, and the place is an amalgam of both Indian culture and cowboy history. It is appropriate, then, that McDermitt's biggest annual events are the Indian Rodeo in June, and the Ranch Hand Rodeo, known as the Twin States Stampede, in July. The Twin States Stampede has been held annually for over 100 years. Making it the longest running rodeo in the state of Nevada. After the rodeo street events are held... sack races, egg races, tug of war, etc. Everyone can participate. Night time fun is the street dance held until early morning hours. For Rodeo information call Darlene Albisu at 775-532-8240 or for general information call Sheree Tibbals at 775-623-2220.

The rest of the time, though, McDermitt - which straddles the Nevada-Oregon border - enjoys a peaceful serenity punctuated by quiet events at the McDermitt Community Hall. And that's the way the small population likes it.

Like most Cowboy Country towns, the still-unincorporated McDermitt enjoyed its share of mining success. Gold, silver and mercury all have been pulled from its soil, but ranching has always been its mainstay, and sprawling cattle operations abound in the vicinity. During prohibition, locals say, the town did a thriving business supplying the local home-brew to thirsty Idahoans.

McDermitt is friendly, and steeped in community, a tiny jewel on the very top of Cowboy Country's crown.

The people of McDermitt are proud of their community hall which is available for reasonable rent to host your events. The Community Hall has been used for small business meetings, conventions and family reunions. Complete kitchen, nice restrooms and room for a hundred or more people.

The old McDermitt Jail was built in 1890 and is shown by appointment and people are allowed inside for pictures. We promise that if we put you in jail... we will let you out.

The past is all around, particularly on the nearby reservation, where one original Fort McDermitt building survives, and still is used for occasional get togethers.

Things to see in and around McDermitt

FORT McDERMITT, 5 miles east of US 95 at a point 40 miles north of its junction with SR 140 (69 miles North of Winnemucca).
This place is not to be confused with the community of McDermitt on US 95, 5 miles to the west.

Lieutenant Colonel Charles F. McDermitt (also spelled McDermitt), commander of the Nevada military district, ordered establishment of a camp at Quinn River Station on the north bank of the East Fork of the Quinn River during the summer of 1865 to protect travelers passing b etween Boise, Star City and Virginia City. That same summer Colonel McDermitt was ambushed and killed by Indians while riding in Quinn River Valley, and by 1867 the camp renamed in his honor had stone and adobe buildings which housed the usual army facilities. About a decade later frame buildings were added, and in 1879 Camp McDermitt became Fort McDermitt, but the need for military presence in the area was diminishing, and a decade later the fort, Nevada's last cavalry post was abandoned. The building became part of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, and some of them still stand.

Fort McDermitt holds a rodeo on Father's Day. Often with booths and sometimes have drums and dancing in costumes.

BUCKSKIN, by unimproved road, 12 miles east of US 95 at a point 29 miles North of its junction with SR 140. Two Winnemucca prospectors located the Buckskin mine on the northeast slope of the Buckskin Mountains in 1906, and when mines boomed at National, four miles to the northwest, several more people prospected this vicinity. The Buckskin National Gold Mining Co. built a 100-ton flotation mill, but that process proved unsuitable for the ores. The company and various leasers operated the mine intermittently for two decades until the Nevada Lucky Tiger Co. took over the property about 1930 and erected another mill. Even that effort was short-lived, and operations were halted when the mill burned during the Depression.