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Nevada Counties
 Click Image to Enlarge Nevada CountiesThere aresixteen Counties and one independent city in the state of Nevada. On November 25, 1861, the first Nevada Territorial Legislature established nine counties. Nevada was admitted to the Union on October 31, 1864 with eleven counties. In 1969, Ormsby County and Carson City were consolidated into a single municipal government known as Carson City. |
Carson City, NevadaCarson City, Nevada History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
Etymology - Origin of County NameNamedfrom the Carson river, named by John C. Fremont, after his friend and scout Christopher "Kit" Carson (1809-1868). Demographics:County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts County HistoryNovember 25, 1861 - It is the smallest county in the state, 168 sq. mi. 12 of which are under water at Lake Tahoe. Originally named Ormsby in honor of Maj. William M. Ormsby, who came to the area in 1857, and later slain in the Pyramid Lake Indian War of 1860. Although the town was not regularly laid out until 1858, when Major Ormsby purchased the land and named the area Carson City. The name of the county was changed when Ormsby County was consolidated with Carson City in 1969. Ormsby is still remembered by Ormsby Boulevard and Ormsby House . Seat: Carson City. Carson City County, from Carson City, is named from the Carson river, named by John C. Frémont, after his friend and scout Christopher "Kit" Carson (1809-1868). The Consolidated Municipality of Carson City, Nevada's territorial and state capital, has a rich and colorful frontier past. Carson City was founded as a community in 1858, seven years after the first settlement of Eagle Station trading post in 1851. Eagle Valley had been settled by ranchers. Carson City is named for the famous frontiersman and scout Christopher "Kit" Carson. During his 1843-1844 expedition, John C. Fremont had named Carson City's nearby river for Kit Carson, Fremont's scout. Pioneer Abraham Curry arrived in Eagle Valley in 1858 and soon thereafter surveyed and plotted a town site. 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 herd of horses. The farsighted and optimistic Curry set aside 10 acres expressly for the construction of a capitol -- this was before the formation of Nevada Territory in 1861. Carson City was soon designated both the territorial capital and county seat of the new Ormsby County. President Abraham Lincoln, recognizing the importance of Nevada's silver and gold to the Union's Civil War effort, signed the proclamation that ushered Nevada into statehood on October 31, 1864. Carson City was selected as the state capital at the constitutional convention and has retained that honor to the present day. More History Neighboring Counties:
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The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define
the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local.
And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions,
reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history. Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally." |