Pershing County NVGenWebPart of the NVGenWeb Project and USGenWeb® Project
Pershing County, Nevada was formed in 1919 with territory taken from Humboldt County. It was the last permanent county to be formed in Nevada and is named for General John J. Pershing. Lovelock is the county seat.
Pershing County was carved out of Humboldt County's southern region after
arguments over public funds necessitated a division of the territory. The state
legislature created Nevada's seventeenth county in 1919 and designated Lovelock
as the county seat. The county was named after General John J. "Blackjack"
Pershing.
A long standing rivalry with Humboldt County inspired Pershing
County commissioners to build a monumental courthouse that would surpass any
government symbol their northern neighbor could erect. In 1920, officials hired
Frederick J. DeLongchamps, an esteemed architect responsible for several Nevada
courthouse designs. They selected Howard S. Williams of San Francisco for the
construction, and Jacob C. Meyer of Reno to supply the heating and plumbing.
Finished on June 20, 1921, the 16,000 square foot, single-story structure
cost $99,138.68. It occupies two acres of land at the end of Lovelock's central
commercial district. The circle-hexagon contour of the building takes its
inspiration from Thomas Jefferson's library at the University of Virginia,
itself referring to the Roman Pantheon. Designed in a popular neoclassical
style, its shape is unique among the nation's historic county courthouses.
Six Ionic columns in terra cotta support a full pedimented portico over the
entrance. The interior contains an unusual layout of a central circular
courtroom surrounded by offices for county officials and employees. A cartouche
with ornamental pilasters on either side decorates the wall behind the judge's
bench.
In 1947, the county contacted DeLongchamps for design of an
additional wing to the courthouse, but officials did not pursue construction.
The courthouse remains in its original design.
Neighboring counties are Churchill, Humboldt, Lander, and Washoe. If you have research in Pershing County before 1919, check records in Humboldt County.
In 2004, the estimated population of Pershing County was 6,405. The county contains 6,037 square miles (3,863,664 acres) with a population density of 603 acres per person.
Welcome to Pershing County NVGenWeb page! I am Rebecca Maloney your county coordinator. Feel free to contact me to share information about Pioneers, Ancestors, Genealogy and Family History. We would be honored to share your research on these pages for other genealogists to use in their research!
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State Coordinator: Rebecca Maloney
Assistant State Coordinator: Norma Hass
County Coordinator: Rebecca Maloney
USGenWeb® Contacts:
National Coordinator: Linda K Lewis
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