Carson City: History and Description
Contents
Carson City
Population: 45,620 (proj. 1996)Elevation: 4600 feet
Today’s sponsor: Stewart Indian Museum
Nevada Web
Travel Pages
This cast iron sentinel stands perpetual guardin the Carson City cemetery.
Special Attractions
Calendar of Events
Overnight Accommodations
Restaurants
This calm and pleasant city has been the Nevada capital since the Nevada Territory was established in 1861, and government has provided the dominant influence on the municipal character for more than a century.
While it doesn’t have the size or reputation of Reno or Las Vegas, Carson City provides interest and enjoyment to visitors by virtue of its frontier
architecture, historical attractions and its wide range of restaurants.
Children are easy to entertain here.
By 1851, Eagle Valley had been settled by ranchers. A few years later a cadre of well-connected attorneys whose names still decorate street signs here (Proctor, Musser) bought the richest part of the valley for $500 and a remuda of horses. They platted a townsite on the land and named it in honor of John C. Fremont’s most celebrated scout. In the spring of the next year, to their astonishment and delight, the discovery of
the Comstock Lode brought their townsite to life as a freight and
transportation center. One of the junior partners, Abe Curry, then built the crude Warm Springs Hotel a mile to
the east, and when Carson City was selected as the territorial capital in
1861, leased it to the Legislature as a meeting hall. The legislature
established Carson City as the seat of Ormsby County (named for one of the
dead “heroes” at the Battle of Pyramid Lake).
The legislators also leased the Warm Springs Hotel to serve as the
Territorial Prison, and named their genial host and landlord, as
its first warden. The property was eventually purchased by the state and is
still a part of the state prison system – drive east on Fifth Street to see
the gloomy sandstone walls across from the sewage treatment plant, or see
it from the inside as the setting for the Tom Selleck movie “An Innocent
Man.”
Carson City was confirmed as Nevada’s permanent capital with statehood
in 1864, and development thereafter was no longer completely dependent on
the health of the Comstock mines. Until they began to decline in the 1880s,
these mines provided Carson City with most of its economic importance as a
freight and staging center, and as a marshalling point for much of the
timber harvest in the Lake Tahoe basin.
Long shallow flumes, capable of carrying enormous pine logs in a shallow
spill of fast water, swooped down the steep eastern slope of the Sierra
from Spooner Summit to Carson City. Scorched and smoldering where they had
rubbed against the flume’s sides in their dashing descent, the logs were
fed into sawmills where they became timbers for the underground mines, and
planed boards for the surface cities. The finished lumber was then loaded
onto flatcars and rolled off to Silver City, Gold Hill and Virginia City
via the Virginia & Truckee Railroad.
The V&T; was completed between Carson City and Virginia City in 1869, with
the railroad’s shops and main offices in Carson City. The V&T; rails were
extended north to connect with the transcontinental railroad at Reno in
1872. By 1874, when the Comstock mines were reaching their peak production,
36 trains a day passed through Carson City. The huge sandstone V&T; engine
house and roundtable dominated the northeast corner of the city for well
over a century. Neglected and falling into ruin since the track was torn up
in 1950, they have now been torn down and the stones sent to create facades
for wineries in the Napa Valley.
Like many another Nevada town in its youth Carson City was made lively,
and occasionally dangerous, by the presence of dozens of rootless, restless
men. Shootings, stabbings and street brawls were commonplace around Nevada,
but Carson City was unique in contending with outbreaks from the State
Prison.
The strangest episode at the prison involved the warden. In the 1870s a change of administration resulted in the request for Warden Frank Denver’s resignation so that a political supporter of the new governor could be rewarded. Dickerson refused to resign; the new warden was appointed anyhow, and in due course presented himself at the prison to take up his duties. But Warden Denver refused to open the gate. The Governor, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State each drove east out Fifth Street to clear up the trouble, and each one in turn clattered back to town in frustration. A force of 60 riflemen and a howitzer had been drawn up before the prison gate before Denver permitted himself to be replaced.
After the turn of the century Carson City participated vicariously in
the Tonopah and Goldfield booms far to the south. Much of the freight and
passenger traffic bound for those two celebrated cities was routed to Reno
and then through Carson City to Mound House on the V&T; railroad. From there
the narrow gauge Carson & Colorado carried it to Sodaville where freight
wagons and stage coaches – after 1903 they were automobiles – were waiting
for the last leg of the journey.
This traffic through Carson City came to a sudden halt when the Southern
Pacific built a branch line connecting with the C & C from the east that
bypassed the V&T; altogether. The capital then resumed the quiet lifestyle
that evolved after the decline of the Comstock, and which still continues
(with variations) today. At the turn of the century the railroad extended
its line south into the Carson Valley, but the Minden-Gardnerville traffic
never came close to replacing the Tonopah-Goldfield traffic, and the
railroad, and Carson City, slipped back into quiescense. In 1930 the
population had dwindled to 1,800, about a quarter of what it had been at
the peak of the mining boom 50 years earlier. “Life was peaceful and
leisurely with time to enjoy friends and extended hospitality,” a long-time
resident recalls. “Money was no status symbol. No one was very rich, nor
was anyone very poor. While life was quiet, it was never dull.”
In 1933 the highway was paved through town, but for a long time afterward
the kids could roller skate on it without worrying too much about traffic.
In those innocent days Carson City advertised itself as America’s smallest
state capital.
The magnificent 1890 Federal Building is a Carson City landmark.
In 1960 Carson City regained its 1880 population level, and in 1969 Ormsby County was merged into Carson City to consolidate government services. There are now nine state capitals with smaller populations than Carson City, and in fact, with its area of 143.5 square miles, Carson City could now advertise itself as one of the largest state capitals in America.
Carson City is its own best attraction, and a stroll through its
historic neighborhoods is the best way to get acquainted with this pleasant
little city at the base of the Sierra Nevada. An illustrated map with
details about many of the historic homes is available at the Chamber of
Commerce. The route suggested on our map here takes about 20 minutes at a
carefree dawdle. You can also take a horse-drawn Hoof Beats surrey tour of
the old neighborhoods originating at the Railroad Museum.
Some of what you will see in Carson City’s historic district:
Wells, Fargo & Co. maintained its Carson City offices and depot in the
brick building at West King and Curry streets; its Mother Lode architecture
is a relative rarity in Nevada.
Mathias Rinckel was a retail and wholesale butcher whose residence
across the street to the north is now the elegant Carlson House
Restaurant. Construction was completed in 1876 and the house is
outfitted with the latest in labor-saving devices exhibited at the
Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in that year.
The Brewery Arts Center was once the Carson Brewery, which produced the
fondly-remembered Tahoe Beer (“Famous as the Lake”) from 1864 to 1948.
Despite the name, Tahoe Beer was made with water drawn from King’s creek in
the mountains to the west of town. The Arts Center maintains a schedule of
performances, exhibits and other activities of considerable interest and
variety (call 883-1976 for the current schedule), but they don’t make beer.
The small sandstone house at 108 N. Minnesota has been the residence of
two of Nevada’s most interesting historic characters. Built in 1860 by
William Stewart, it was sold it to James Nye, Nevada’s Territorial
governor, appointed by president Abraham Lincoln. Stewart and Nye went to
Washington as the two first U.S. Senators from Nevada. It was Nye’s home
until he left for Washington in 1864.
In the next block the unusual Springmeyer house at 302 N. Minnesota was
the home of Governor Charles Russell for many years. The octagonal building
in the back yard is a smokehouse that once served Carson City’s first
school, which occupied the lot next door. The 11-room house at number 340
was built of materials salvaged from the school when it was torn down in
1906. It housed Dr. Simeon Lem Lee, a Civil War hero of the Union army, and
his family. Dr. Lee had left his Illinois home in the early ’70s for the
rough Lincoln County camp of Pioche, and then came to Carson City in 1879.
He is remembered as a fiery, crochety old crank, but a good surgeon and a
founding member of the state medical society.
The small, double-bayed home at 212 N. Division Street is notable for
its architectural design and decoration, including the unusual Victorian
bird bath in the front yard. Six chimneys rise up from the roof, one for
each room in the house..
The St. Peter’s Rectory at 300 N. Division Street was built of locally
produced brick in 1868, one of the oldest residences still in its original
location. Two blocks farther north, number 502 at the corner of Spear
street was built in 1863 by Territorial Secretary of State Orion Clemens
whose younger brother Sam was a reporter for the Territorial
Enterprise..
The Governors Mansion at the corner of Mountain and Robinson streets
dates from the early years of the century. It has been extensively
renovated and is occupied by the present governor and his family. It is not
open to the public, but it is among the most elegant homes in Carson City’s
historic district.
You’ll also enjoy:
Nevada State Museum
Northeast corner of Carson and Robinson Street. Open daily 8:30-4:30
daily. Admission $1.50; under 18 free.
The immense production of gold and silver from the Comstock mines prompted
the establishment of a branch U.S. Mint in Carson City in 1866. The
handsome structure on the northeast corner of Carson Street and Robinson
was built of prison-quarried sandstone and produced nearly $50 million in
coin of the realm until it closed down in 1933. The old coin stamps are
still inside (and still put to use to make commemorative coins for special
occasions) along with fascinating exhibits of natural and social history.
Exhibits range from stuffed animals in glass cases through a life-sized
wax-figured diorama of Paiute Indian home life to the unique facsimile of a
silver mine down in the basement. Dat-So-La-Lee’s woven baskets are a
national treasure. The mineral exhibits are exceptional, and guns abound.
The Nevada State Capitol
Carson Street, at the center of town. Open during office hours; no
admission charge. This solemn old sandstone monument to the 19th century
has been earthquake-proofed and renovated throughout, but its Alaskan
marbled halls are still decorated with elaborate friezes, and hung with the
portraits of former governors, back to “Broadhorns” Bradley and James Nye,
the New Yorker whose loyalty to the Union Abraham Lincoln rewarded with the
governorship of the Nevada Territory in 1861. The present governor and
other top state officials continue to do the state’s business here, but the
original Senate, Assembly and Supreme Court Chambers upstairs are most
often used for exhibit space and usually open to visitors. The octagonal
afterthought out the back door of the capitol building was added in 1908
when the burst of economic and political activity at Tonopah prompted an
expansion of state government.
That oddity was the last benign addition in the neighborhood of the
capitol; now a gallery of architectural eyesores presses in closer and
closer around the old silver-domed building of the pioneers.
The promenade between the Capitol building and the moderne excrescence of
the Legislative Building (presently being retrofitted with a new and presumably more agreeable facade) to the south has lately become populated with
sculpture. Kit Carson, lifesized and personal, is studying the trail from
horseback, his rifle ready in his hand. Adolph Sutro, larger than
life-size, is poised to drive his pick into the famous four-mile tunnel he
dug to drain the Comstock mines. And Abe Curry, pioneer real estate
developer and city builder, stands earnestly in a badly cut coat, clutching
a bronze wad of blueprints like a club.
Warren Engine Company Museum
111 N. Curry. Open 1-5 pm weekdays; admission free. A block west of the
Capitol this colorful and intriguing museum is devoted to this pioneer
volunteer fire company. The Warrens are the oldest established volunteer
fire brigade in the U.S. and understandably proud of it. It’s only open in
the afternoon, but unless everybody is busy with a fire, you’ll get a
personal tour from one of the paid firemen or a from an available
volunteer. The treasures displayed here range from a 1912 Seagrave Fire
Truck (how did they get that thing up to the second floor?) to memorabilia
such as antique uniforms, alarm systems and redwood water mains.
Carson Hot Springs
1500 Hot Springs Road. Open daily 8 am-9 pm (11 in summer). Admission:
kids Ű, Adults บ. This natural hot water pool complex has been a favored
relaxation spot since long before the white man came. The large mineral
pool and the hot baths are the main attraction, but food, drink and
entertainment are also available depending on the time of day. The water is
also bottled for drinking (75¢ a gallon).
Lone Mountain Cemetery
Corner N. Roop Street and Beverley Drive. Open daily. No admission
charge for brief visits. Stagecoach driver Hank Monk is probably better
remembered than the pillars of local society who are buried around him
here. It was Hank Monk who bounced Horace Greeley up the mountainside to
California, lashing the horses over the rocky road and yelling down into
the coach, “Keep your seat, Horace, I’ll get you there on time!”As one of
his contemporaries remarked, “He drank so much hard spirits that he often
forgot what he was doing when it came to the incidental tasks connected
with staging, and fed whiskey to his horses and watered himself on numerous
occasions, thus becoming accidentally sober enough to handle the inebriated
team.”
Many pioneer families are represented here, some beneath or within
elaborate burial monuments, others quite modest. The cast-iron civil war
soldier pictured above keeps endless vigil.
Virginia & Truckee Railroad Museum
South Carson Street at Fairview. Open 8:30-4:30 Wednesday through
Sunday. Admission, $1; under 18 free. This small but satisfying museum is a
showplace for what remains of railroading in Carson City. The locomotives,
coaches and cars inside the museum building are like jewelry, and the
steamers that carry passengers back and forth across thegrounds are the
real thing.
Inside the big windowed barn are two locomotives, a flatcar, a
passenger car, and a caboose and one of the best take a presnt home for the
kids (or grand-kids) gift shops in Nevada. It’s railroad oriented,which
means there’s something here for everyone (does anyone have too many
striped engineer’s caps?), but with a strong emphasis on delighting the
kids.
The Childrens Museum
813 N. Carson Street. Open Tuesday through Thrusday, 11-4. Admission:
Adults, $4; under 12, $2; under 2 free. This venerable building was once
Carson City’s library, but there’s no shushing inside these days, as
toddlers through pre-teens find their way through this agreeable
environment. A friendly hands-on entertainment for kids.
The Prison Store
East on Snyder Road past the Indian Museum, at the minimum security
state penitentiary. Open daily. In the prison parking lot is a small store
for inmate-made goods which may be purchased by the general public.
Traditionally, inmates in the Nevada State Prison have knitted sweaters and
tooled belts, wallets – even saddles – to order, and the inmate clerk can make
arrangements for you. The store is small and the stock is relatively
limited, but the souvenir value is as high as ever.
Great Basin Art Gallery
Nevada artists are showcased in this former stagecoach station behind
the old Supreme Court Building at Second and Curry Streets. Besides the
brilliant Nevada landscapes of co-proprietor Jeff Nicholson, the gallery
exhibits the work of many fine contemporary Nevada painters, sculptors and
photographers.
For all its 19th century appeal, the bright lights along Carson Street and
the overwhelming presence of state government, Carson City really shines as
a manufacturing center. Dozens of medium and small sized manufacturing
firms have located in Carson City over the past 15 years. About 20% of
Carson City’s employment is now in manufacturing (compared to 5% for the
state as a whole), a surprisingly high figure for a community 35 miles from
the Interstate, with no railroad or regular air service. Some of the
attraction may lie in the ski resorts in and around Lake Tahoe, but the
large labor pool and relatively low wage scales and property prices are big
attractions too. To see Carson City’s industrial side, take Airport Road,
turn north on Goni and east on Arrowhead; or take Roop Street south to
Fairview and turn east.
All but a few of Carson City’s hotels and motels lie along Carson Street
(U.S. 395), and most of the rest are within a block or two. As elsewhere,
the gambling houses shine the brightest: the Ormsby House has been restored
to prominence, the nearby Carson Station and the Nugget a few blocks north
have now been joined by the Piñon Plaza on the east side of town as the
city’s biggest gambling houses.
Carson City’s revitalized historic district is a major attraction of the modern city.
The Ormsby House was missed during its long sleep, but while the
capital’s most metropolitan landmark was dark a nearby neighborhood was
being transformed by a modern-day Abe Curry.
A shabby downtown block centered on the landmark St. Charles Hotel at Third and Carson Streets is now an inviting street of restaurants and shops. In a pleasantly modern way (asphalt, electric lights) the historic district is restored to life in something like its original style. Pop’s Rib Houseand the chic Joe Garlic’s (see the murals in the deepest of the dining rooms) face one another across Third Street, where a Farmer’s Market is conducted one afternoon-into-the-evening each week in the summer.
The Carlson House, on Curry Street behind the old Supreme Court
building, is an upbeat modern restaurant in the gloriously restored Rinckel
Mansion. Food is served in the high-ceilinged dining rooms year around and
in the outside gardens during warm weather.
A few steps farther north across the street are Garibaldi’s and Nick’s
Pizza, both popular dining places. Keep going north past the Nugget to the
elegantly, classically French Adele’s in its doll house Victorian near the
center of town. Sylvana’s, a few blocks north on Carson Street, is just as
decidedly Italian.
Some other favorites:
Breakfast at the Cracker Box at William Street (U.S. 50) and Stewart,
hearty omelets and breakfasts designed for duck hunters and truck drivers.
Scott’s, Carson Street at Long, is a local family favorite, heavy on the
hot cakes served by waitresses who call you hon.
For lunch a surprising number of ethnic traditions are represented. For
a casual lunch I like the China Kitchen on north Carson Street. Ghenghis
Khan, in the Crossroads Shopping Center just east of Winnie Lane, serves a
varied buffet with Mongolian barbecue, and Amimoto in the Silver City
shopping mall on the south side of town serves Japanese food.
For Mexican food try Mi Casa Too on far north Carson Street, Tito’s at
the center of town and Taqueria Las Salsa, authentic and informal, in the
Warehouse Market shopping center on US 50 east.
Carson City has a busy schedule of events througout the year, but perhaps
the most interesting ones for visitors are the Indian Pow-Wows at Stewart,
and the annual Kit Carson Rendezvous, a wildly imaginative evocation of the
frontier lifestyle that existed until the coming of the iron horse. A
weekend event in early June, it offers an abundance of sights, sounds and
flavors that can combine to produce sensory overload.
Carson City
Calendar of Annual Events
MARCH Mother Earth Pow Wow702-882-1808
JUNE Downtown A-Fair702-885-0411
Kit Carson Rendezvous/Wagon Train702-885-7491
Stewart Indian Museum Pow Wow702-882-1808
Comstock Bike Tour702-882-1565
JULYIndependence Day & Fireworks702-882-1565
Carson City Fair702-882-4460
OCTOBERChili Cook-Off702-293-2034
Nevada Day Parade & Contests702-882-1565
La Ka Le’l Ba Nevada Day Pow Wow702-882-1808
DECEMBER
Silver & Snowflake Tree Lighting702-885-0411
Welcome to Carson City
These businesses are pleased to welcome you
Art
Galleries
GREAT BASIN GALLERY &
FRAME
2nd & Curry Streets. 702-882-8505. A must-see, one of a kind Art Gallery
located in Carson City’s formidable historic district. Devoted to bringing
the finest of Nevada art and artists, past and present, to the
Reno-Carson-Tahoe area. Custom framing. Challenge us! Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat
10-4.
Casinos
PIÑON PLAZA Casino & Bowling Center.
2171 Highway 50 East. 702-885-9000. We’re your place for 24-hour
Southwestern fun! Slots. Video poker. Blackjack. Craps. Roulette.
There’s even a sportsbook, sports bar, and a fabulous buffet. You’ll
always find all the action here, our 32-lane bowling center is open 24
hours. Step into the Southwest and strike it rich at the Piñon Plaza!
Local Area
Information
CARSON CITY CHAMBER of Commerce.
1900 S. Carson Street. 702-885-1565 Nevada’s Historic Capital. Stop by
our Visitor Center for information on local and regional attractions and
things to see and do. Also business and residential relocation material.
Our Gift Shop has unique quality items on local and state history. Credit
cards accepted.
Overnight
Accommodations
ST. CHARLES HOTEL.
310 S. Carson Street. 702-882-1887. Historic Nevada Hotel. St. Charles
Hotel, located across from State Capitol, established 1862 and recently
remodeled inside & out. 2 Restaurants are available, as well as 5 antique
shops. Experience the oldest continuously operating hotel in the state of
Nevada. Rooms from $49. Call for reservations.
Restaurants
CARLSON HOUSE RESTAURANT.
102 N. Curry Street. 702-883-1575. Casual dining in Carson City’s second
oldest residence, The Rinckel Mansion, built in 1876. Located one block
west of the Nevada State Capitol in the heart of Carson City’s historic
district. Serving lunch and dinner daily from 11 a.m. Patio dining
available in summer months. Full bar.
HEIDI’s DUTCH MILL Restaurant.
1020 N. Carson Street. 702-882-0486. Heidi’s Dutch Mill Restaurant has
been a family spot in the heart of Carson City since 1935. Omelettes,
fresh waffles, sandwiches and burgers abound. You’ll see the windmill and
V&T; mural at Hwy 50 East and 395. Try CITY CAFE BAKERY for pastries,
coffees, breads and sandwiches.
Shopping
THE TRADE BEAD. 1627 N. Carson Street. 702-883-8111. “A
PLETHORA OF BEADS”. Come in and explore our world wide inventory of old,
new, antique and pre-historic beads. We have books and supplies for all
you beading needs. We offer appraisal services. Open Tuesday-Saturday
10-6, Sunday 12-6, closed on Mondays.
Special
Attractions
STEWART INDIAN CULTURAL CENTER.5366 Snyder
Ave. 702-882-1808. Home to the Cassinelli arrowhead collection, E.S.
Curtis photogravures, traditional basketry, Indian School memorabilia,
grinding rocks and unique Great Basin artifacts. Open 9-5:30 Mon-Sat; 9-4
Sun, admission free. Gift shop with a wide variety of Native American art
and goods. Pow-wows in March and June.
Special Attractions | Calendar of Events | Overnight Accommodations | Restaurants Top of the Page
Back to Contents
Nevada Travel
David W. Toll
Nevadaca