Whats a “Winnemucca?
” Perhaps no other place in Humboldt is more fastened to I-80 than Winnemucca, Humboldt’s county seat. The name “Winnemucca” literally means, “Place by the River”, named after the great Indian Chief Winnemucca who lived in the area. Sarah Winnemucca, the chief’s daughter, was an author and a spokesperson who vowed for peace and co-existence between whites and her native people, the Paiutes. None of this has been forgotten because Winnemucca’s name lives forever as a notable mini-city. Winnemucca’s year-round population of eight thousand has just about every amenity a visitor might need if they were a weary interstate driver. Winnemucca’s two major casinos and a dozen or so motels and restaurants insures its people have services twenty four hours a day. A visit to Winnemucca will undoubtedly highlight its reason for being: to serve the interstate. However, locals are trying to change the image of Winnemucca, making efforts to turn the town into a cowboy “hotspot”, much like Elko or Love
