Carson City, the capital of Nevada

Curry’s plaza

Carson City was planned as a capital from the beginning. In 1858 Abraham Curry bought the Eagle Ranch and laid out a town, setting aside a central plaza for a future capitol, although at the time the area was still part of Utah Territory.

His gamble paid off. Congress created Nevada Territory in March 1861, and Governor James W. Nye set up the territorial government at Carson City in July. The first territorial legislature met there on October 1, 1861, with Curry leasing his Warm Springs Hotel to lawmakers as a meeting place, and that November, with help from Curry and the lawyer William M. Stewart, it named Carson City the seat of government.

Kept at statehood

When Nevada became a state in 1864, the constitutional convention kept Carson City as the seat of government. Nevada has never had another capital.

The Capitol

The Capitol was built on Curry’s plaza in 1870 and 1871. Designed by Joseph Gosling and built by the contractor Peter Cavanaugh, it is a sandstone building crowned with a silver-colored dome, fitting for the Silver State. Its stone came from the quarry near the Nevada State Prison on the east side of Carson City. The state architect Frederic DeLongchamps later designed additions, including north and south wings and a library connected to the building by a breezeway.

Since October 2018 the second floor has housed Battle Born Hall, a museum.

Visiting

Self-guided and docent-led tours of the Capitol are free. See Travel Nevada’s Capitol page for details.