Nevada became a territory in 1861 and a state in 1864. Its capital has always been in Carson City which was originally Eagle Station on the California Immigrant Trail. The town’s founders were on the money when they left a plaza in the center of town for a capitol building.
The building is constructed of local sandstone with finely-finished exterior faces.
The building was completed in 1871 but didn’t age well–three independent engineering firms inspected the Capitol in 1974 and each concluded the building was a structurally unsound public safety hazard. In 1977 the roof, interior stone walls, and interior details were removed and a reinforced concrete shell was bonded to the existing exterior walls. The interior was rebuilt using items salvaged from the original including the staircase pictured below.
The handrail is original and made of black walnut. The wainscoting is pine painted to look like oak.A mural decorates the top of the walls on the first floor. It was painted by Reno artist A. V. Wiggins in 1917 and is three feet wide and 400 feet long. The mural includes pictures of the principal industries of early Nevada as well as minerals found in the state.The Assembly met in this room before a separate legislative building was constructed in 1971.The former Supreme Court chambers feature restored chairs originally used in the legislature.The guide for our tour stands in front of the Governor’s office.The Secretary of State’s office includes an ornate safe where documents were stored.An octagonal building was added to the Capitol in 1917 to serve as its library. It currently is used for meetings.Window in the additionCeiling in the octagonal additionFlags from each of Nevada’s counties decorate the octagonal room.Nevada state sealSarah Winnemucca (1844-1891) was a member of the Paiute tribe, the daughter of Chief Winnemucca, and the granddaughter of Chief Truckee. She was a translator, scout, negotiator and educator and was the first Native American woman to publish a book. The statue in the Capitol is a copy of the one Nevada gave to the National Statuary Hall Collection.This elk horn chair was owned by Governor John Sparks and was the honorary chair used by President Theodore Roosevelt on his 1903 visit to the Capitol.This radiator has doors with a cabinet behind them.
The former Senate chamber hosts exhibits of Nevada’s history.
This piece of silver ore was given to the California Institute of Sciences by John Mackay, one of the original owners of the Consolidated Virginia Silver Mine. The mines produced more than $150,000,000 in silver and gold.One ton of this ore (about the size of a washing machine) yielded 1/2 ounce of gold.This is how much gold there is in one ton of the ore pictured above–about half an ounce.A ton of this ore would produce about 1/200th of an ounce of gold.One ton of the ore sample in the previous picture could produce 1/200th of an ounce of gold, pictured above.Model of the Nevada CapitolNevada Supreme Court building across from the Capitol
August 4, 2022 Vermont’s oldest geocache was closer to our campground near Albany, New York than our campground near Montpelier, Vermont so we treated it separately from other Vermont geocaches. Besides, it was harder to Read more…
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