Editing Winnemucca, Nevada (section)

== History and culture ==
The town was named for the 19th-century [[Chief Winnemucca]] of the local [[Northern Paiute]] tribe, who traditionally lived in this area.<ref>{{cite book | url=http://dwgateway.library.unr.edu/keck/histtopoNV/Origin_of_Place_Names_Files/1941NevadaOriginofNames-pt1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409171723/http://dwgateway.library.unr.edu/keck/histtopoNV/Origin_of_Place_Names_Files/1941NevadaOriginofNames-pt1.pdf |archive-date=2018-04-09 |url-status=live | title=Origin of Place Names: Nevada | publisher=W.P.A. | author=Federal Writers' Project | year=1941 | pages=39}}</ref> Winnemucca, translated, means "the giver."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zanjani |first1=Sally |title=Sarah Winnemucca |date=2001 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-9921-4 |pages=21 |url=https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/bison-books/9780803299214/ |access-date=25 September 2023}}</ref>  The chief's daughter, [[Sarah Winnemucca]], was an advocate for education and fair treatment of the Paiute and [[Shoshone]] tribes in the area. Their family all learned to speak English, and Sarah worked as an interpreter, scout and messenger for the United States Army during the [[Bannock War]] of 1878. In 1883, Sarah Winnemucca published the first autobiography written by a Native American woman,<ref name="omer">[http://escholarship.org/uc/item/1vx9q7p0#page-1 Omer Stewart, Review: "Gae Whitney Canfield, 'Sarah Winnemucca of the Northern Paiutes', Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma, 1983"], ''Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology,'' 5(2), 1983, accessed February 12, 2014</ref> based on hundreds of lectures she'd given in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. It has been described as "one of the most enduring ethno-historical books written by an American Indian."<ref name="omer"/>

On September 16, 1868, the [[Central Pacific Railroad]] reached Winnemucca, and was officially opened on October 1 of that year. It was a stop on the [[first transcontinental railroad]] completed the following year.<ref>{{cite web|last=Marden|first=J. P.|title=The History of Winnemucca|publisher=Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum|year=2005|url=http://cprr.org/Museum/Winnemucca_Marden.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060116220050/http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Winnemucca_Marden.pdf |archive-date=2006-01-16 |url-status=live|access-date=April 19, 2013}}</ref>

[[Basques|Basque]] immigrants worked as sheep-herders starting in the mid-19th century.  In honor of this heritage, Winnemucca hosts an annual Basque Festival.

On September 19, 1900, [[Butch Cassidy]]'s gang robbed the First National Bank of Winnemucca of $32,640.

Winnemucca's [[Prostitution in Nevada|brothel district]], while smaller now than in the 1980s, is known as "The Line" or "The Ring Circle", based on the layout of the street where the brothels are located. As of 2015, there have been no operating brothels in Humboldt County, Nevada.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} Sex workers in the town must register their vehicles with the local police.<ref>{{cite web|last=Giang|first=Vivian| title=Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Prostitution In Nevada|work=Business Insider|date=December 14, 2011|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/prostitution-legal-nevada-prostitutes-brothels-sex-2011-12?op=1|access-date=April 19, 2013}}</ref>

According to a billboard along [[Nevada State Route 140|State Route 140]] (the "Winnemucca to the Sea Highway"), Winnemucca styles itself "The City of Paved Streets".

Winnemucca is home to the Buckaroo Hall of Fame and Heritage Museum.

===Chinatown===
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Winnemucca had a vibrant Chinatown.  The Chinese originally came to the area as workers on the transcontinental [[Central Pacific Railroad]], which reached Winnemucca in 1868. Some remained or returned to settle.

During the 1890s, around 400 Chinese formed a community in the town. Among their prominent buildings was the Joss House on Baud Street, a place of worship and celebration. In 1911, the community was visited by [[Sun Yat-Sen]], later to become Chinese president. He was on a fund-raising tour of the United States to help the [[Xinhai Revolution]].<ref>Chew, James R. "Boyhood Days in Winnemucca, 1901–1910." ''Nevada Historical Society Quarterly'' 1998 41(3): 206–209. {{ISSN|0047-9462}}</ref>

The Joss House, the last structure associated with Chinatown, was demolished on March 8, 1955, by order of the Winnemucca City Council.<ref>{{cite news | title = Humboldt Pioneers effort to save famed Joss House rebuffed by City Council | date = January 7, 1955 | url = https://newspaperarchive.com/reno-evening-gazette/1955-01-07/page-8 | work = Reno Evening Gazette | page = 8 | access-date = June 7, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Stanley | last = Miller | title = Baud Street Winnemucca | date = Sep 1963 | url = http://mydesertmagazine.com/files/196309-DesertMagazine-1963-September.pdf | work = Desert Magazine | page = 23 | access-date = June 7, 2012 | archive-date = December 2, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111202104635/http://www.mydesertmagazine.com/files/196309-DesertMagazine-1963-September.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref>