The Nevada Central Railroad was a small line which was completed in 1880 to link silver mines near Austin with the Central Pacific Railroad at Battle Mountain. The railroad provided Austin with its principal economic link to the outside world until the line was abandoned in 1938. The turntable was part of a the line's southern terminus.

Prior to the construction of the railroad, goods were freighted to and from Austin by mule train at exorbitant rates. At first the rail cars were pulled by mules, but in 1881 a locomotive known as The Mule's Relief was placed in service.

Little remains of the simple turntable except a shallow, circular pit approximately seventy feet in diameter. At the center is a drum-like poured concrete pivot mount with four bolts projecting from the top. These bolts formerly secured the turntable's rotating arm which is thought to be buried nearby.

Source: Adapted from the NRHP nomination form submitted in 2003.