Misplaced Pages

#71928

26-459: Abraham Curry , the founder of Carson City, reserved an area equivalent to four city blocks (10 acres or 4.04 ha) at the center of the town for the future state capitol. When the Capitol building was constructed, it was naturally located on "the plaza", which had, some ten or eleven years earlier, been designated for it, and given for that purpose. Mark Twain wrote in his book Roughing It that

52-671: A home for his family in Carson City, where he would spend the last two years of his life. Three months after the completion of the railroad project, Curry died of a stroke on October 19, 1873. In homage to its first superintendent, the Carson City Mint was closed that day. He was buried in Lone Mountain Cemetery in the largest funeral ever held in Carson City. A popular legend recounts that he had left only one silver dollar in his pocket for his wife Mary at

78-505: A section of the rope used to hang the man convicted of the murder of folk heroine Julia Bulette . For more than 50 years, all three parts of the state government were housed in the Capitol. The Supreme Court met here until 1937, when it relocated into an adjacent building, and the Nevada Legislature met here until 1971, when it relocated to its new Legislative Building just south of the Capitol. Every Nevada governor except

104-703: A state and the newly written constitution established the Lieutenant Governor of Nevada as the ex officio warden of the prison. In 1865, the United States Congress approved the establishment of a branch of the United States Mint in Carson City. Curry was named one of the planning commissioners and became the first superintendent when the Carson City Mint began operating in 1870. Later that year, Curry left

130-473: A total sale price of $ 1,000. Musser and Proctor, who were both attorneys, worked to carve a separate territory from Utah, while Curry promoted the newly founded Carson City . Curry set aside and donated 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land for the site of the Nevada State Capitol . In July 1859, Musser became president and Proctor became vice-president of the constitutional convention to establish

156-688: Is considered the founding father of Carson City , Nevada . A native of the state of New York , he traveled to the West Coast during the California Gold Rush and settled in Nevada's Eagle Valley , where Carson City was established. Curry served as an assemblyman of the Nevada Territorial Legislature from 1862 to 1863 and was a territorial senator from 1863 to 1864. He was also the first superintendent of

182-419: Is traditionally held during the weekend before Halloween and Nevada Day . Curry was portrayed by the actor Mark Bennett in the 1956 episode, "The Man Who'd Bet on Anything" on the syndicated television anthology series , Death Valley Days , hosted by Stanley Andrews . Paiute Paiute ( / ˈ p aɪ juː t / ; also Piute ) refers to three non-contiguous groups of Indigenous peoples of

208-565: The Carson City Mint and the first warden of Nevada State Prison . Curry donated 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land for the site of the Nevada State Capitol , for which the state prison quarry provided the stone for its construction. Curry spent the final years of his life building facilities for the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in Carson City. Though he had achieved prominence in Nevada, his wife claimed that he had only one dollar in his pocket when he died in 1873. Abraham Van Santvoord Curry

234-550: The Territory of Nevada . Curry served as the delegate from Eagle Valley. In 1859, the discovery of the Comstock Lode east of Carson City was made public, bringing tens of thousands of miners into the area. In 1861, Curry built a 100-foot stone hotel on top of warm springs about two miles east of the city center. A large wooden eagle was placed on the top of the hotel. In 1862, the Nevada Territorial Legislature leased

260-577: The Utah War . Curry's $ 1000 offer to buy a corner lot on which to build a store in Genoa was refused for being insufficient. After finding real estate in Genoa to be expensive, Curry moved on to the more sparsely inhabited Eagle Valley . Curry partnered with Musser and Proctor to purchase the Eagle Ranch trading post and 865 acres of the surrounding valley for a down payment of $ 300 in coins out of

286-594: The Great Basin . Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages , these three languages do not form a single subgroup and they are no more closely related to each than they are to the Central Numic languages ( Timbisha , Shoshoni , and Comanche ) which are spoken between them. The term "Paiute" does not refer to a single, unique, unified group of Great Basin tribes, but

SECTION 10

#1732798837072

312-608: The Mint to accept a commission to supervise the building of an engine house and machine shop for the Virginia and Truckee Railroad . Construction began in 1872 with stone provided by the prison quarry. Following its completion on July 4, 1873, the engine house hosted a celebratory grand ball. The Central Pacific Railroad stated that the shops built in Carson City equaled or exceeded their own locomotive facilities in Sacramento, California . In 1871, Curry had also designed and built

338-605: The Warm Springs Hotel from Curry to hold meetings and detain prisoners. The legislature had been using the prison quarry to provide stone material for the Nevada State Capitol while keeping costs down. In 1864, the territorial legislature paid $ 80,000 to acquire the hotel along with 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land from Curry, who was appointed the first warden of the facility that would become known as Nevada State Prison . In October of that year, Nevada became

364-570: The building. Near the office of the Nevada Commission for Women, a display named Silver State Sisters documents about 100 individuals (mostly women) who have contributed to Nevada history — such as Barbara Vucanovich , Bernice Mathews , and Wild Horse Annie — and groups of women, such as the first non-segregated showgirls at the Moulin Rouge Hotel . Artifacts of Nevada history on display include Paiute crafts and

390-477: The capitol site was in 1861 "a large, unfenced, level vacancy, with a liberty pole in it, and very useful as a place for public auctions, horse trades, mass meetings , and likewise for teamsters to camp in." The "act to provide for the erection of a State Capitol" was passed by the Nevada Legislature and signed into law by Governor Henry G. Blasdel during 1869. The Board of Capitol Commissioners received bids of $ 84,000 to $ 160,000 for construction and they chose

416-533: The doors. Floors and wainscotting are of Alaskan marble , shipped to San Francisco in 20-ton (18,144 kg) blocks and there cut and polished for installation. The first floor contained a major office at each corner connected by central halls, while the wings of the second floor were filled by the two legislative chambers—the Assembly and the Senate . The octagonal dome topped with a cupola admitted light to

442-595: The first branch "tribe" of the Improved Order of Red Men in California. He met future business partners Benjamin F. Green, John J. Musser, and Francis "Frank" Marion Proctor in the nearby town of Downieville . In 1858, Curry traveled by stagecoach with Green, Musser, and Proctor, from California to the town of Genoa after news had spread that the western part of Utah Territory had been abandoned by Mormon settlers returning to Salt Lake City because of

468-541: The first has had his office in the capitol. Nowadays, the Capitol continues to serve the Governor, and contains historical exhibits on the second floor. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Park Service . Abraham Curry Abraham (or Abram or Abe ) Van Santvoord Curry (February 19, 1815  October 19, 1873)

494-414: The high bid. The cornerstone was laid on June 9, 1870. A brass box that served as a time capsule was deposited in the stone. The cornerstone was a solid block of sandstone, laid on top of blocks which contained the capsule. The capsule was inspected and returned to the cornerstone location (the northeast corner of the original building) during reconstruction in the 1979–81 period. The fourth session of

520-506: The lowest bid, submitted by Peter Cavanaugh and Son of Carson City. The 1869 act authorized $ 100,000 for construction, with money to come from a special tax levy, plus the proceeds from the sale of some public land. To reduce costs, the building sandstone was obtained free of charge from the Nevada State Prison quarry , just outside Carson City. In spite of this, the construction costs increased to some $ 170,000, exceeding even

546-489: The same quarry as the original portion of the capitol, and provided more office space and expanded legislative chambers. A painted frieze in hallways of the first floor celebrates industry in Nevada, listing agricultural products and minerals found in Nevada mines. A vault door in the office of the Secretary of State of Nevada is painted with a scene of Lake Tahoe . Portraits of all governors of Nevada hang throughout

SECTION 20

#1732798837072

572-462: The second story. During 1906, an octagonal Annex was added to the rear (east) of the capitol to house the State Library. By the early 20th century, the legislature had outgrown the capitol, and prominent Nevada architect Frederic DeLongchamps was contracted to design northern and southern legislative wing-annexes, completed in time for the 1915 session. These compatible wings used stone from

598-542: The state legislature met in the still-incomplete building at the beginning of 1871. Construction was completed by May 1, 1871. Several of the architect's original drawings are preserved in the state archives. The original building was cruciform , with a central rectangle 76 feet (23 m) wide by 85 feet (26 m) deep (23 x 25.8 m). It had two wings, each 35 feet (11 m) wide by 52 feet (16 m) deep (10.6 x 15.8 m). The windows' glass panes are made of 26-ounce (737 g) French crystal , as are those above

624-402: The time of his death. Abraham Curry's house was passed down to his daughter Elvira, who in turn passed it on to her son W. H. Cowan, in 1902. The house remained in the family until 1919, and is presently used as a private law office. The house is reportedly haunted by his spirit. Abraham Curry's funeral procession has been reenacted as part of Carson City's annual Ghost Walk event, which

650-745: Was born on February 19, 1815, in the hamlet of South Trenton, New York . He was the first son of Campbell Curry and Elvira Skinner Curry, who were married in South Trenton. On August 1, 1835, Curry married Mary Ann Cowen, who was then eighteen years old, in Ogdensburg, New York . Their first child and only son, Charles A. Curry, was born on June 10, 1836. After a year in Ogdensburg, the family moved several times and settled in Portage, Ohio , in 1848. The Currys later had six daughters. By 1852, Curry

676-560: Was working in Cleveland , Ohio, as a commercial merchant and later became an agent for the Michigan Southern Railroad . After his daughters, Elvira and Jane, were each married, Curry and his son Charles took a steamship from New York City that sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco between 1854 and 1855. In 1856, the two were in the mining town of Red Dog , where Curry opened a bowling alley and established

#71928