Long before mining camps proved profitable, agriculture laid the groundwork for settlement in Lander County.
Farms and ranches began developing in the early 1860s, encouraged by the Homestead Act and sustained by steady traffic along the Emigrant Road. The Reese River Valley, just south of what would become Battle Mountain, emerged as an agricultural zone supplying food, livestock, and stability to travelers and nearby camps. Cattle and sheep ranching quickly became lucrative, offering something mining could not: consistency.
Some of the region’s most enduring agricultural legacies began with individuals. A Welsh immigrant, Ben Lewis, established a ranch west of the mountains, leaving his name across the landscape: Lewis Canyon, Ben’s Peak, and Mount Lewis. His daughter Hannah arrived from Wales in 1868, and by the 1880s the Lewis name was tied not only to a mining district but to a growing town. Other early ranchers followed. By 1870, “Old Broadhorns” Bradley introduced 500 head of cattle—one of Nevada’s first large-scale cattle operations—while farmers like John H. Slavan near Argenta proved that crops such as barley, oats, potatoes, and beets could thrive along the Humboldt River.
Agriculture expanded rapidly after the railroad arrived. Rancher George W. Crum demonstrated that rye and alfalfa could be grown without irrigation, leasing vast acreage by 1887. Large ranches—including the Blossom, Licking, Chiara, and Argenta Ranches—took root, while smaller operations flourished near town. Western Shoshone families also played a vital role: more than one hundred Shoshone men supported their households through farming and by catching and selling trout in Battle Mountain and Austin. Chinese farmers worked plots east of town, while Italian immigrants like Rosa Chiara raised vegetables and flowers to sell locally after tragedy forced resilience.
With growth came conflict. Millions of sheep were trailed along the Humboldt River toward eastern markets, and tensions between cattlemen and sheepherders became common. In response, Nevada adopted a brand law in 1873 to reduce disputes, but violence still erupted. The most lasting outcome came not from conflict but from perseverance. After a deadly confrontation in 1885, Welsh rancher W. T. Jenkins rebuilt his sheep business, and after his death in 1899, his widow Edith Jenkins transformed the operation into one of Nevada’s largest ranches. The Jenkins Company hired Basque immigrants as sheepherders, helping families like the Savals establish ranches and businesses that still shape the region today.
By the mid-20th century, agriculture rivaled mining as Lander County’s economic backbone. Dairy operations, goat herds, fox farms, and vegetable plots supplemented massive livestock ranges. By the 1950s–1960s, ranches operated on more than 653,000 acres, producing livestock, hay, grains, fruit, and honey. Families such as the Jenkins, Saval, Licking, and Filippini carried these operations across generations.In a land shaped by boom and bust, agriculture endured, quietly anchoring Battle Mountain through every cycle of change.
