Jill's Journal: The founding father of Carson City was Abraham Curry, a native New Yorker who traveled west for the Gold Rush. After a few years in California, he set his sights on the western edge of the Utah territory and founded the town of Carson City in 1858. While his attorney partners worked to carve out a territory independent of Utah, Curry busied himself with establishing a town. He named the settlement Carson City after legendary Kit Carson, the mountain man, hero, adventurer, and explorer who mapped the west. Carson himself, shown above in a statue on the Capitol grounds, was the scout for the first group of European American explorers to pass through the area in 1843.
Curry envisioned a Nevada territory in which Carson City would be the capital. He had the foresight in 1858 to set aside several acres downtown for a capitol building and grounds. A year later, gold and silver was discovered at the nearby Comstock Lode which would finance the Union side of the Civil War. Curry got his wish. Nevada became its own territory in 1861 before achieving statehood in 1864. Carson City was named its capital.
An aside: in the bid for statehood, Nevada voters decided to telegraph the potential state’s entire constitution to President Abraham Lincoln. The 1864 cost for such a hefty document to arrive in Washington, D.C. from Carson City in one day? $4,303.27.
From 1870-71, the Capitol building was carved out of sandstone from Curry’s quarry. The dome is silver, a nod to Nevada’s moniker of the “Silver State.” Eventually, extra wings were added on to the building, but it still retains the 1870s hometown feel and is not overly large. Perhaps it’s partly because Carson City is a small capital city itself, numbering only about 56,000 residents.
Erika, Madelyn, and Victoria on the Capitol’s front steps.
After being in California’s Capitol building several weeks ago, Nevada’s Capitol was a surprise. The two could not be more different. California’s Capitol is grand and almost intimidating. Nevada’s is small and intimate. At the California Capitol, everyone is screened before entry. In Nevada’s Capitol, anyone can walk right in without getting so much as a glance. In fact, there’s no security to be seen anywhere, although we did spot a small, polite sign asking visitors to leave any firearms outside. The contrasts are remarkable and it’s hard to believe they’re in neighboring states in the same country.
That’s Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval’s office at the end of this hall. When we walked by to head up the stairs, someone ran out to bring the entire family “governor coins.”
The blank walnut handrails are original to the building. The countless hands that have used them include President Theodore Roosevelt on a visit to Carson City.
Nevada was the 36th state admitted to the Union. This is the flag that flew during the years until the next state (Nebraska) was admitted.
These wine glasses were used by the above-mentioned Curry and Nevada’s territorial governor, James W. Nye, to toast the future prosperity of the new state.
The original Supreme Court and…
…the original Assembly room, both of which (along with the Senate) were once housed in the Capitol. Nevada is one of only three states which now has a separate legislative building from the Capitol.
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