McDermitt is an unincorporated town straddling the Nevada-Oregon border, in Humboldt County, Nevada and Malheur County, Oregon. The town, originally called Dugout, was named after Charles McDermit (sic), a commander of the Military District of Nevada in the 1860s. It was originally established to protect a stagecoach route from Virginia City, Nevada to Boise, Idaho.
As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total population of 269, a precipitous decline from the 373 people enumerated in the census a decade earlier.
The town is on U.S. Highway 95. Its economy has historically been based on ranching and farming, and home to a mercury mine until 1990. Mining may start up in the area again, courtesy of Canadian firm Gold Canyon Resources
Web Sites and Links
• McDermitt Combined School
Information and bylaws of a McDermitt High school student-based, non-profit corporation, that provides Internet service to rural Humboldt and Malheur Counties and serving rural schools of Orovada, Denio, Kings River, Paradise, Jackson Mountain, Leonard Creek.
