Churchill County Court House
Nevada's oldest and only wood-framed court house!
Built: 1903; Restored: 2000
Photo by Dave Faulk

elcome to Churchill County, Nevada! We've put together this page to give you a little Churchill County trivia, as well as some current statistics on our community. If there is something else you'd like to know, please contact us at countymanager@churchillcounty.org.

Churchill County is located in Northern Nevada approximately one hour east of Reno. Our county name has no connection to Winston Churchill, according to our local newspaper publisher David Henley. Instead, the county was named after Brevet Brigadier General Sylvester Churchill (1783-1862). Churchill served as Inspector General of the Army for 20 years and was a hero in the Mexican War. The first Army fort established in Nevada was Ft. Churchill. Built on the banks of the Carson River in 1860 it was situated about twenty-five miles from Carson City.

Churchill County encompasses approximately 4,900 sq. miles of fertile agricultural lands, desert, mountains and valleys, and contains only one urban area, the city of Fallon. The most current population estimate of our county is between 26,000 and 27,000 persons. Of that number, approximately 8,600 persons reside within the city limits of Fallon, the county seat. Churchill County is also the home of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, a number of lakes, expansive wetlands and wildlife refuge areas, and the U. S. Naval Air Station Fallon where the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center and TOPGUN host Naval and joint combat training. Churchill County is a leading producer of green energy.

Growth and prosperity in northern Nevada are bringing change to Churchill County. Expanding neighborhoods, businesses, health care facilities and educational institutions are bringing opportunity, and challenging the community to develop a master plan to preserve our rural, western heritage while promoting balanced, beneficial growth.