A pelota court in Flagstaff, Ariz., built in 1926 by Basque immigrant Jesus Garcia (Patty Rubick Luttrell)

An architectural hodgepodge, the Winnemucca Hotel stands on a corner of the Nevada city with the same name. Built in four parts between the years 1863 and 1915, the Winnemucca is the oldest structure in town. It may lack modern curb appeal, but the hotel compensates with its colorful history as a residence for Basque settlers, who began migrating to America in the mid-1800s.

The origin of the Basque people is as mysterious as their unique language. The Basque region, which is about the size of Rhode Island, spans the border between Spain and France along the western Pyrenees. Those who eventually settled in the United States started life in their new country living primarily in hotels and boarding houses such as the Winnemucca—sites that are disappearing.

"There are only 10 surviving Basque hotels in Nevada and California, so preserving the buildings, and the Basque-owned businesses, is critical," says Terri McBride, Nevada's National Register coordinator, who helped place the Winnemucca Hotel on the state's historical register in April.

Winemucca Hotel (Courtesy of the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office)

The 1990 U.S. Census put the U.S. Basque population at under 50,000, a number that Basque officials dispute. Although Basques currently have one of the lowest birth rates in Europe, at one time Basque families, who are traditionally Catholic, were very large. According to ancient tradition, Basque property devolves to the eldest child born of each union, a practice that often impoverished the remaining siblings. As a result, many Basques made their way to South America to forge new lives in the primarily Spanish-speaking countries.

When Gold Rush fever infected the American West, however, Basques migrated from both South America and Europe. Rather than pan for gold, many ended up in mountain pastures, herding flocks of sheep for wool and meat. Settling primarily in California, Nevada, and Idaho, Basque immigrants clustered in small communities. The men spent part of the year tending sheep. Mostly bachelors, the shepherds needed places to stay when they brought the sheep in from pasture, providing the need for Basque hotels and boarding houses, which were usually owned and operated by Basque couples.

These guesthouses were important to the Basque community; this is where they met their future wives, where they lived until they bought their own homes, which tended to be temporary dwellings.

"They planned to return home and didn't build traditional Basque homes here," says Linda White, a professor at the University of Nevada at Reno and a Basque language expert who's written several books and hundreds of articles on Basque language, customs, and culture.

Basque houses usually had three levels. "The animals were kept on the bottom level for warmth," White says, "while the family lived in the middle, and the attic was used for storage."

1926 pelota court, Flagstaff, Ariz.

As Basques embraced their new country, of course, they also retained many of the traditions of their homeland—like pelota, one of the oldest sports in history. Pelota players throw a ball—a small, extremely hard one hand-sewn from goatskin—against a walled court either by hand or with the aid of a sling. Pelota courts often were built adjacent to hotels and other Basque businesses, but many of the old courts have been demolished. Today, only about a dozen of these historic courts remain west of the Mississippi River, and many preservationists say it's imperative to preserve the ones that are left.

In Arizona, the state's only remaining historically significant pelota court, constructed in Flagstaff in 1926, was listed on the Arizona Preservation Foundation's 2004 list of endangered historic properties. The 40-foot sandstone walls, which apparently straddle the line between two parcels of land, are crumbling, and the court floor is overgrown with weeds and grass.

"Some want to just tear it down and make it into a parking lot," says Vince Murray, a historian at Arizona Historical Research, based in Tempe. "And that would be a shame."

Arizona owes its name to the Basques, who named the Grand Canyon State, according to White. "Most think the name 'Arizona' is Indian, but it's not," White says. "It's from the Basque words meaning 'good oak.'"

While pelota courts are disintegrating in Arizona, the streets of Boise, Idaho, are lined with several fine examples of historic Basque buildings, lovingly preserved by local Basque organizations. The 1990 U.S. census cited the number of Basques in Idaho at less than 6,000, but most in the Basque community estimate the population in Boise alone to be anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000. Some Boise residents, like Dan Ansotegui, whose grandparents were born in the Basque country and migrated in the early 1900s, believe that the younger generation identifies less and less with its Basque roots and don't claim their Basque heritage on the census. That could spell problems for future preservation prospects.

"It's becoming less important," says Ansotegui, who owns and operates Gernika Pub and Eatery. "People don't understand the history of the buildings."

Boise's oldest surviving brick building, the Cyrus Jacobs-Uberuaga Boarding House, built in 1864, is being restored by the nonprofit Basque Museum and Cultural Center. Museum Executive Director Patty Miller says boarding houses and hotels haven't been given their due.

"They play an important role in immigration history, not simply for Basques," Miller says. "These are the places immigrants stayed when they first came to this country."

This is a lesson that, for Boise's Basque population, came better late than never. "We've been very lucky to preserve some of the Basque hotels here," Ansotegui says. "About half of them have already been torn down."

This story was originally published on Preservation Online on June 10, 2005.

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