State Route 722 offers some excellent scenery

First off, always check road conditions during the winter months in Nevada! If all looks good weather-wise, State Route 722 is a beautiful drive with great views of snow-covered peaks.

722 veers off of US Highway 50 near the roadhouse at Middlegate. It then crosses two summits: Eastgate at 5,110 feet, and Carroll Summit at 7,492 feet. It reunites with US Highway 50 just west of Austin. The highway is the old route of US Highway 50 and previously the Lincoln Highway. The US 50 designation was removed in favor of the new route that traverses the Desatoya Mountains via New Pass Summit, which is 1,100 feet lower with easier inclines on both sides.

For photos and a virtual tour of State Route 722, visit http://austinnevada.com/Highway-722-photography.html.

A walk along Main Street, Austin

Summer along Main Street is one of the best times to enjoy the small town atmosphere of Austin. The shopkeepers are friendly and always willing to help visitors find their way around town. A walk through this historic town and visiting its many shops makes for a relaxing and enjoyable experience.

Austin was a very prosperous mining town in the 1800s, so there are a lot of stories hidden within the walls of its buildings. If you travel Highway 50 this summer, make sure to stop and enjoy this quaint Main Street with its numerous historical landmarks. For information about the town and all of its Main Street shops, visit the Chamber of Commerce that is located at the courthouse.

Learn more about Main Street in Austin at AustinNevada.com

The beautiful architecture of St. George’s Episcopal Church

St. George’s Episcopal Church is another beautiful and historic place to visit in Austin. In 1877, The Reverend Blackiston swept the congregation with his enthusiasm and eloquence at Easter Service to bring forth pledges including the building, retaining wall, pipe organ, bell and a twenty-dollar gold piece from every employee of a local mine. The organ was shipped around the Horn and by wagon from San Francisco. St. George’s was consecrated in 1878.

The intricate brickwork and impressive architecture are very impressive. Standing tall and surrounded by shade trees, this is a “must visit” for travelers of Highway 50. It’s also one of many buildings in Austin that are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Learn more about historical Austin at http://austinnevada.com/history.html

The Methodist Church in Austin was built with innovative funding.

Now serving as a community center, the Methodist Church in Austin is another great example of this town’s rich history. Built in 1866, it’s one of Nevada’s oldest surviving Methodist churches, and Nevada’s first church built outside of the Comstock.

The brick edifice with Italianate bell tower was built during the pastorate of J. L. Trefren, who conceived an enterprising approach to construction financing. Trefren organized the New England & Nevada Silver Mining Company and sold stock based on the potential earnings of Austin’s silver claims. The church was built and a fine organ was purchased (possibly the first church organ in Nevada) before the scheme collapsed. Mechanical engineer Daniel P. Bell served as supervising architect for the building, which was apparently designed by a California architect, and Bell may have been responsible for the building’s innovative form. Lectures and entertainment were part of the church scene for benefit purposes. Emma Wixom attended Sunday school here. Later, as world-famous Emma Nevada, she brought her troupe to Austin and gave a benefit concert in this church.

Learn more about Austin’s history at austinnevada.com/history.html

Great progress on St. Augustine's Catholic Church restoration

If you are interested in historic restoration, or just love historical buildings in general, St. Augustine's Catholic Church in Austin is a must see! There is a lot of work being completed on this church, and it's great to see how all the efforts of the St. Augustine's Cultural Center are paying off.

The restoration has begun to make the news. Check out the recent story in "Preservation Magazine." http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2008/todays-news/nevada-church-opens-for-tours.html

St. Augustine’s is Nevada’s oldest Catholic church building and also one of its finest. Construction of the imposing brick building overlooking Austin’s downtown was begun and largely completed in 1866. The exterior is distinguished by a bell tower with Gothic Revival and Italianate details; the interior retains many early features including grained pews, Gothic confessionals, and a decoratively painted Henry C. Kilgen organ in a Gothic case. About 1940 the parish hired an artist to paint murals for the interior, and the vibrantly colored scenes of events in the lives of Christ and St. Augustine are today the building’s artistic highlight. The basement, used as a school and as religious living quarters, preserves decorative floor painting and early wallpapers. From St. Augustine’s Parish priests such as Fr. Edward Kelly and Fr. Dominick Monteverde fanned out to establish Catholicism in eastern Nevada and Utah in the 1860s and 1870s. With Austin’s eventual decline St. Augustine's was made into a mission church, and services there ceased at the end of the twentieth century.

Learn more about Austin’s history at austinnevada.com/history.html