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Austin was established shortly after William Talcott discovered silver here on May 2, 1862. A rival town, Clifton, was established in nearby Pony Canyon, but was quickly eclipsed by Austin. Austin became the county seat for Lander County in 1863 and was the commercial center for mining in the area into the 1880s when the mines began to fail. In 1880 the Nevada Central Railroad was built connecting Austin with Battle Mountain. Most silver production ended by 1887 and the town went into decline. In 1979 the county seat was moved to Battle Mountain and today Austin is a tiny way station on the "Loneliest Road in America."
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