Lander County, Nevada: History
The area that would become Lander County contained the Reese River Station of the Pony Express, and several mining settlements as part of the Reese River excitement.
On December 19, 1862, Lander County was created as part of the Nevada Territory from portions of Churchill County and Humboldt County, with Jacobs' Springs assigned as the temporary county seat until the role could be voted upon at the next general election. Lander County was named for General Frederick W. Lander, chief engineer of a federal wagon route and Special Indian Agent in the area. On September 2nd, 1863, Austin was voted as Lander County's new county. Lander County became known as "The Mother of Counties" due to the formation of 3 subsequent Nevadan counties from portions of its territory: Elko (1869), White Pine (1869), and Eureka (1873). On May 15, 1979, the voters of Lander County approved the move of the county seat from Austin to Battle Mountain in a special election. In a subsequent ruling, the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed this decision.