Nevada is a lot more than Las Vegas you know. It is a relative new comer state, entering the Union as a State on Halloween in 1864 as our 36th State. But the area that became Nevada did not come under U.S. control until the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848. Prior to that time, Nevada was claimed by Spain (starting in 1519!), until Mexico took over after gaining their independence from Spain in 1821. There were probably some Indians or other indigenous peoples there first, but as usual the Europeans sort of ignored that.

The first non-native settlers that stayed were actually Mormons who set up shop in 1855. I guess they didn’t like it much as the settlement was abandoned in 1858. What made folks up and relocate to the most arid State in the US (only 26 days with precipitation a year and only about 10” of rain a year at that!). Most of the influx for people came for gold. To this day about 75% of the gold mined in the USA comes from Nevada. In fact, Nevada is the 5th largest gold producer in the world! The Mormons did not come for gold however. They had to be different and had come to mine lead from the Potosi Mountain area.
And while we are mentioning water….Nevada has more natural hot springs than any other state. There are more than 300 of them, so take that Yellowstone!
Besides gold, Nevada also has a wealth of silver, copper, and some of the world’s best black opals. Please note that lead was not included in that list. Maybe the Mormons got it all?
This mining boom had had a rather odd lasting impression on Nevada. Today there are more old and abandoned ghost towns and mining camps than so called living towns. The USPS has more than 600 such ghost towns with their own zip codes, which out numbers so called “living” towns and cities.
There are some unique features to Nevada, the most surprising to me was to learn that a whopping 85% of the territory is actually under the direct control of the Federal government. No, it is not all Area 51, there are also the Bureaus of Indian Affairs, Land Management and Reclamation taking up land. Just to give some perspective, the average amount of territory under federal control in each State is 28%.
So, what else is unique? How about this? The longest and most expensive telegram ever sent in the United States originated in Nevada on November 8, 1864. Nevada sent the text of the entire 175 page State Constitution to Washington, D.C. in connection with the Presidential Election that year – something about needing to verify they were actually a legal State and could vote. The entire telegram took more than 7 hours to create and would have cost about $60,000 in today’s currency. Some pundits have theorized that Lincoln pushed for Nevada’s admission since it was highly Republican and might assure his reelection. Which, in the long run, did not work out all that well for him.
Nevada was the very first State to ratify the 15th Amendment (giving African-American men the right to vote). They did this on March 1, 1869. So take that Delaware, you weren’t first on something Constitutional.
One thing that simply does not make a lot of sense to me about Nevada is the State’s seeming obsession with camels, of all things. Sure, a lot of States seem to have laws on the books about “driving” camels on freeways (it’s actually illegal in Nevada, but only in this unofficial Camel Appreciation State have they gone so far as to designate a month as “Prehistoric Camel Appreciation” month.)  Yes, thanks to Nevada law 236.05, every May is “Prehistoric Camel Appreciation” month. Just what does a prehistoric camel look like, anyway? If you want to get a look at one, head to Tule Springs, the site of a lot of fossils and artifacts of both prehistoric horses and American camels.
And it’s not just really, really old camels that have a tie in with Nevada. Did you know that the U.S Army actually had a “Camel Corps”? In 1855 it was created to look into using camels in the Western territories to transport personnel and equipment between Fort Defiance in New Mexico and Fort Mohave in Nevada. The idea didn’t last long as the Army figured out that keeping camels was a lot harder than they imagined, so the 25 Bactrian camels that made up the U.S. Army Camel Corps wound up staying in Nevada. Many were sold to local business owners who used them to transport goods. Hopefully they proved more tractable to work with as civilians.
Nevada did NOT name a camel as the State animal though, that honor goes to the desert bighorn sheep. I would have picked a wild horse myself. Nevada is home to the majority of the wild horses left in the USA.
The world’s oldest living trees can be found in Nevada. The ancient bristlecone pine can be found in several places in Nevada. These trees have 5,000 year life spans and the largest grove of them in the world can be seen at Mount Charleston In The Springs Mountain in the Western part of the State. And that’s not the only really old thing to be found in Nevada. In 1940 the oldest mummy in North America was found in the aptly named Spirit Cave. It was 10,600 years old then, which makes it 10,684 years old now.
Folks in Nevada consume more shrimp every day than are consumed in the entire rest of the USA combined. Given just how land-locked Nevada is, I suspect frozen shrimp. Why such a high consumption rate? Two words: Las and Vegas.
Speaking of the big LV, I found it interesting that Nevada is one of only six States that does NOT have a lottery. Maybe Caesar’s Palace didn’t want the competition.
So, besides a preoccupation with camels, eating shrimp, and the creation of a city dedicated to over indulgence what has Nevada given us? How about something I suspect each and every person in Tanglewood has worn and probably owned at one point in their lives? Yes, I am talking about blue jeans. The first blue jeans were created by a Russian immigrant tailor named Jacob Davis in Reno Nevada when a woman came to him looking to have pants made that would be durable for her husband who was a railroad worker. The first pair was made in 1870 and were a big hit. So much so that Mr. Davis had to take on a partner to keep up with the demand. His partner? A guy named Levi Strauss.
Nevada (outside of the Las Vegas area) has some of the darkest skies in the US, making it an ideal spot for star gazing. The clear view of the night skies may also have something to do with Nevada’s place as a prime spot to view UFOs. State Route 375 has had so many sightings that it has also been designated as the Extraterrestrial Highway. There are even signs along the 98 mile road that runs from Tonpah to Alamo naming it as such (and yes, that goes near Area 51).
Wonder what folks in space might be looking at back here? Well, Las Vegas is the brightest spot on Earth at night when viewed from space….maybe that is what attracts the UFOs?

Finally, a couple of law facts. Nevada is more known for what is legal there, than illegal. Prostitution is legal in licensed and regulated brothels in specific locations. Oddly enough, none of them are in Las Vegas or Reno. The other legal sin? Marijuana is legal to consume under State law. And we are not just talking about

medicinal use either, recreational pot is good to go too. There are licensed dispensaries all over the State where you can buy to your heart’s content. Just be sure to smoke or otherwise consume it all before leaving the State – it is still a Federal crime to transport it over state lines. And while you can buy it anywhere, you cannot consume it in public everywhere. Las Vegas – blaze away. Reno – nope, you have to find another way to publicly pass the time waiting for the divorce to be final.