Evanston was established by the Union Pacific Railroad Company late in 1868. In the first county election, September 6, 1870, Evanston was chosen county seat. Union Pacific Railroad shops moved here in the fall of 1871. Timber and sawmill operations were the leading business. Cattle and sheep ranching became the basic industry of Unita county. In the '70s and early '80s, a Chinese Joss House, one of the three in the United States, attracted thousands of Chinese for Chinese New Year's Day ceremonies. About four hundred Chinese normally lived in China Town and worked in the Almy coal mines. The Joss House burned on January 26, 1922.