FALLON, NV

Fallon is a city in Churchill County in the U.S. state of Nevada. The population was 9,327 at time of the 2020 census. Fallon is the county seat of Churchill County and is located in the Lahontan Valley.

History

The community was first populated during the California Gold Rush, because multiple would-be Forty-niners stopped after crossing the Carson River.

The town and post office were established on July 24, 1896, in a little shack belonging to Michael Fallon and Eliza Fallon, who operated a ranch at the site. Shortly afterwards, Jim Richards later operated a store near the post office.

The town was officially incorporated in 1908.

On June 16, 2019, downtown Fallon was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Fallon is located in western Churchill County at the geographic coordinates (39.472792, -118.778826). It is in the Lahontan Valley, a former lakebed into which flows the Carson River, which passes north of the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Fallon has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.49%, is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,536 people, 3,004 households, and 1,877 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,474.1 people per square mile (954.0/km²). There were 3,336 housing units at an average density of 1,095.2 per square mile (422.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.5% White, 2.0% African American, 3.0% Native American, 4.7% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.9% of the population.

There were 3,004 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,935, and the median income for a family was $41,433. Males had a median income of $35,356 versus $22,818 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,919. About 9.5% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Between 1997 and 2003, the Fallon community experienced an unusually high incidence of childhood leukemia. In response, the U.S. Senate held the Field Hearing Before the Committee on Environment and Public Works during the winter of 2001. Nevada Assemblywoman Merle A. Berman was a participant. According to the minutes of that hearing, on February 14, Berman pressed for answers to ascertain why certain individuals, but not others were selected for the panel of experts chosen to investigate the leukemia clusters and “why the Federal Government was not involved in the testing.” And on April 12, Berman obtained this testimony from one of the medical experts in attendance:

“[Dr. Thomas Sinks, the associate director for science at the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control] clarified that nobody ever developed cancer because of chances. There was always a cause, and the challenge in Fallon would be to discover the common denominator among the 11 children. The unifying cause was not yet known, but eventually science would identify the commonality. The probability of the Fallon cluster being a chance event was described by Dr. Sinks as being unlikely.”

In 2011, epidemiologists at the University of California, Berkeley theorized that the "space-time patterning" of the leukemia cluster was "consistent with the involvement of an infectious disease," and that a "possible mode of transmission" was "by means of a vector" since mosquitoes were "abundant in Churchill County outside of the urban area of Fallon."

Education

The city is served by the Churchill County School District. Churchill County High School is the main high school and also caters to students in rural areas outside the city. Western Nevada College has a campus in Fallon.

Fallon has a public library, the Churchill County Library.

Climate

Fallon experiences a cold desert climate, with hot summers and cold winters. Due to Fallon's elevation and aridity, the diurnal temperature variation is quite substantial, especially in the summer months. Fallon's climate is quite dry, due to its location in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada. Summer days can be hot, but temperatures are cooler than in deserts such as the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan deserts, due to Fallon's altitude and higher latitude north of the equator. In the winter, daytime temperatures are usually above freezing, but nights can be bitterly cold. Fallon can experience heavy fog in winter, known as pogonip.

Climate data below were accessed via the Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC) on 24 June 2020.

Nuclear weapons testing

Los Alamos National Laboratory, in conjunction with the Department of Defense, conducted an underground nuclear test southeast of Fallon at 5 p.m. on October 26, 1963. Named Project Shoal, the 12.5-kiloton detonation was part of the Vela Uniform program. The device exploded at a depth of below ground surface. The site is located in Gote Flat in the Sand Springs Range.

Access to the Project Shoal Area is unrestricted. Access to the area is by Highway 50, Nevada Highway 839, then to an improved gravel road to the site.

In popular culture

Notable people

Twin towns

Fallon is twinned with the following towns: