Town of the Week, October 17, 1998
(rebroadcast from 2/25/95)

Take a visit to Fallon, Nevada; just listen in.

Fallon, Nevada

Giant jackrabbits, the size of small dinosaurs, hop through desert ravines, past rattlesnakes and scorpions lurking in the sage in western Nevada's Lahontan Valley.

It was here, at the turn of the century, where the federal government's first large irrigation project turned this valley green with alfalfa fields and rangeland. At the time, Mike Fallon's ranch was the post office, and the town that grew up around it is called Fallon, population 6,500. It's the only city in Church Hill County -- an area comparable to the state of Rhode Island.

Fallon is a rancher's town, with a main street wide enough to park under the cottonwoods on both sides and still run a double line of vehicles down the center of the street. The Fallon Piute-Shoshone Indian Reservation is located here, and this is also the home of Naval Air Station-Fallon. The Navy's Top Gun Fighter Pilot School is located here. The town is also known for organized gambling and two nearby brothels, Salt Wells Villa and the "Lazy B."

Fallon is near Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge, and Mt. Sands -- the singing mountain. It's the home of the high school Green Wave and Lady Wave, and it's our Town of the Week, Fallon, Nevada.