Owyhee, Nevada facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Owyhee Un Kwahain
Census-designated place
Central Owyhee, 2013
Location of Owyhee, Nevada
Country	United States
State	Nevada
Area
• Total	224.99 sq mi (582.72 km2)
• Land	224.39 sq mi (581.16 km2)
• Water	0.60 sq mi (1.56 km2)
Elevation	5,400 ft (1,646 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,027
• Density	4.58/sq mi (1.77/km2)
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
ZIP Code	89832
Area code(s)	775
FIPS code	32-53600
GNIS feature ID	0842663

Owyhee (pronounced oh-WHY-hee) is a small community in Elko County, Nevada, United States. It sits along the Owyhee River. In 2020, about 1,027 people lived there. Owyhee is part of the Elko area.

This town is the main community for the Shoshone-Paiute tribe's Duck Valley Indian Reservation. This reservation is in both northern Nevada and southern Idaho. Most of the people living in Owyhee are Native American.

Even though most of Nevada is in the Pacific Time Zone, Owyhee and other towns near the Idaho border often use the Mountain Time Zone. This is because they are closer to and have stronger connections with towns in southern Idaho.

History of Owyhee and Its People

Early Life of the Tribes

Long ago, the Shoshone and Paiute tribes lived freely in the areas that are now Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon. This changed when people from the eastern United States and Europe began to arrive, especially after the mid-1800s. The tribes lost some of their land and resources.

The tribes made agreements, called treaties, with the United States government. The chiefs signed these treaties hoping to help their people survive.

Establishing the Reservation

Today, the descendants of the Western Shoshone and Northern Paiute tribes live on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation. This reservation is in both Idaho and Nevada. These two tribes are closely related and have used this area for hunting and gathering for a very long time.

On April 16, 1877, the President of the United States, Rutherford B. Hayes, created the reservation for the Western Shoshone. In the early days, people on the Duck Valley reservation built and lived in their traditional homes. These homes were made from earth, willow, and sagebrush.

Some tribal groups moved on and off the reservation. They did this to find food and supplies because the government did not always keep its promises. Some groups found ways to adapt to these changes.

Challenges and Changes

Other groups did not want to leave their traditional lands outside the reservation. The Northern Paiute groups joined their relatives, the Bannock, in the Bannock War of 1878. After they were defeated by the United States, the survivors were sent to a reservation in Yakima, Washington.

When they were released, the survivors returned to their homelands. In 1886, the Western Shoshone reservation was made larger for them to use. In 1884, some local settlers tried to move the Western Shoshone to another reservation. They wanted to open up the Duck Valley lands for non-Native American settlers. However, the tribal chiefs successfully stopped this from happening.

Education and Health Care

From 1884 to 1911, an Indian boarding school was open on the reservation. After that, three smaller day schools were opened in different parts of the reservation. In Owyhee, the Swayne School was built.

In 1931, during the Great Depression, the day schools closed. All students then went to the Swayne School. Older students went to boarding schools off the reservation until 1946. That year, high school classes were finally added to the reservation school.

In 1956, the reservation schools became part of the Elko County School District of Nevada. Today, this is known as the Owyhee Combined Schools, which teaches students from kindergarten through 12th grade. A community education center was also built in Owyhee. It offers classes for GED (General Educational Development) and higher education.

The first full-time doctor came to Duck Valley in 1882. By 1897, a small one-room hospital was built. A larger hospital with two seven-bed rooms replaced it in 1920.

The Shoshone and Paiute tribes at Duck Valley officially united under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. They formed their own tribal government in 1936. In July 1937, a new hospital made of native stone was finished. It had a 20-bed ward, X-ray, and lab facilities. This stone hospital closed in 1976 when the modern Owyhee Community Health Facility was completed.

Geography and Climate

Where is Owyhee Located?

Owyhee is located near the northern border of Nevada. It is at coordinates 41.947928 degrees north and -116.135181 degrees west. The community covers about 585.1 square kilometers (about 225.9 square miles). Most of this area is land, with a small amount of water.

Nearby Cities and Roads

Nevada State Route 225 goes south from Owyhee for about 97 miles to Elko, which is the county seat. To the north, Mountain Home, Idaho, is about 96 miles away. You can get there by taking Idaho State Highway 51.

Transportation in Owyhee

The main road into and out of Owyhee is Nevada State Route 225. This road goes south to Elko and north to the Idaho border. Once it crosses into Idaho, it becomes Idaho State Highway 51. This highway continues north to Mountain Home. Owyhee also has its own airport, called Owyhee Airport.

Education in Owyhee

• Owyhee Combined School

See also

In Spanish: Owyhee (Nevada) para niños