The following is excerpted from the NRHP Nomination Form submitted in 1977.

The contract for the construction of the Lincoln County Courthouse, at Pioche, was awarded on August 26, 1871, and the structure was completed the following year. Its significance lies in the fact that for the next 66 years, it served the people of the southeastern corner of Nevada as a courthouse, jail, repository for records, seat of county government, and as a center for local and regional political activity.

Prior to the establishment of Pioche as the county seat of Lincoln County in 1871, this isolated area had been noted as much, for its lawlessness as for the productivity of its mines. After 1871, county government became more effective, and the area was no longer a haven for rowdies, outlaws, and lawbreakers.

The structure has been recently restored, after sitting empty since 1938.

Visit NPS Focus for the digitized Nomination Form for the Old Lincoln County Courthouse and photographs of the courthouse.