Austin

Austin, Nevada, is more than just another stop along America's Loneliest Road (HWY 50). It's a wonderful place with some of the best mountain biking, hiking, and other outdoor activities in the state. The town's historic Main Street is also a highlight. It has motels, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, gas stations, and one-of-a-kind shops that appeal to both locals and visitors. Austin, in Lander County, was founded in 1862 as part of a silver rush sparked by a Pony Express horse kicking over a rock. Austin and the surrounding Reese River Mining District had a population of over 10,000 people in 1863.

Austin has three beautiful churches: St. Augustine's Catholic Church (built in 1866), The Methodist Church (1866), and St. George's Episcopal Church (built in 1866). The only one of the three churches that is still in use is St. George's Episcopal Church. In 1859, the International Hotel was built in Virginia City. Parts of it were relocated to Austin in 1863. The hotel no longer rents rooms but continues to serve meals and drinks. The International Hotel is said to be the oldest hotel in Nevada. The Nevada Central Railroad was constructed in 1880 to connect Austin with the transcontinental railroad at Battle Mountain. Although major silver production had ceased by 1887, high-quality turquoise is still mined in the area.

Consider the possibility of coming across a castle in the desert. Stokes Castle is a popular landmark on Austin's outskirts. Stokes Castle is a three-story tower built by Anson Phelps Stokes, a mine developer and railroad magnate, in the fall of 1896 and completed in June 1897. The tower was originally used as a summer residence, but it is now vacant. You can only imagine how it felt to live there.