Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 39–Senators Raggio, Amodei, Care, Carlton, Coffin, Jacobsen, James, Mathews, McGinness, Neal, O’Connell, O’Donnell, Porter, Rawson, Rhoads, Schneider, Shaffer, Titus, Townsend, Washington and Wiener

 

Joint Sponsors: Assemblymen Dini, Anderson, Angle, Arberry, Bache, Beers, Berman, Brower, Brown, Buckley, Carpenter, Cegavske, Chowning, Claborn, Collins, de Braga, Freeman, Gibbons, Giunchigliani, Goldwater, Gustavson, Hettrick, Humke, Koivisto, Lee, Leslie, Manendo, Marvel, McClain, Mortenson, Neighbors, Nolan, Oceguera, Ohrenschall, Parks, Parnell, Perkins, Price, Smith, Tiffany, Von Tobel and Williams

 

FILE NUMBER..........

 

Senate Concurrent RESOLUTION—Recognizing the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of permanent, non-Indian settlements in Dayton, Genoa and Carson City, Nevada.

 

   Whereas, In 1851, the western portion of the Utah Territory that now

encompasses Carson City and Douglas, Lyon and Storey counties saw the

beginnings of the first settlements by courageous pioneers adventuring

west to explore the frontiers of America and find new places to make their

fortunes or raise their families; and

   Whereas, This area of the present State of Nevada has a history rich

with the stories of prospectors, traders and settlers who came in search of

their dreams and stayed to brave the cold winters and arid summers to

make Nevada their home; and

   Whereas, The Town of Dayton traces its history to 1849 with the

discovery of gold at the mouth of Gold Canyon by Abner Blackburn, who

was forced to leave when provisions ran low but whose discovery brought

other fortune seekers who would stay in the area and build their lives on

the Comstock; and

   Whereas, During the winter of 1850, James “Old Virginny” Finney

lived in his make-shift shelter at the mouth of Gold Canyon and by the

spring of 1851 was joined by as many as 200 miners who settled in the area

which became known as Hall’s Station because the residents were supplied

by the trading post built by Spafford Hall of Indiana; and

   Whereas, Hall’s Station, grew and prospered, became known as

Chinatown because of the many Chinese who lived there and worked the

placer claims in the canyon, and in 1861, it became the first county seat of

Lyon County and was renamed Dayton in honor of John Day who laid out

the town and later became Surveyor General of Nevada; and

   Whereas, The Town of Genoa traces its history back to 1848 when it

was an early campsite on the Emigrant Trail to California and 1850 when

its first permanent structures, a roofless log enclosure and corral, were

built; and

   Whereas, In 1851, John Reese and 16 other men arrived in present-day

Genoa with 13 wagons to build a permanent trading post, known first as

Reese’s Station and later as Mormon Station, that led to the settlement of

the town which became the nucleus of a small farming population; and

   Whereas, In 1854, this settlement, renamed Genoa in 1855, was

proclaimed the seat of Carson County, Utah Territory, and, with the


organization of the Nevada Territory in 1861, was established as the county

seat of Douglas County, a position it retained until 1916; and

   Whereas, Carson City was first established in 1851 as Eagle Station, a

trading post and small ranch on the Carson Branch of the Emigrant Trail,

and was settled over the next few years by Mormon colonizers who were

called back to Salt Lake City by Brigham Young in 1857; and

   Whereas, In 1858, Abraham Curry and several business partners

bought Eagle Station, laid out the town and named it in honor of John C.

Fremont’s most celebrated frontier scout, Kit Carson; and

   Whereas, With the discovery of the Comstock Lode the following

year, Carson City was brought to life as a freight and transportation center

and, true to the prediction of Abraham Curry albeit with some shrewd

political maneuvering on his part, was selected as the territorial capital in

1861 and was confirmed as the state capital when Nevada was granted

statehood in 1864; now, therefore, be it

   Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the Assembly

Concurring, That the members of the 71st session of the Nevada

Legislature do hereby recognize the 150th anniversary of the establishment

of permanent, non-Indian settlements in Dayton, Genoa and Carson City

and applaud the efforts of those who are working to honor the memory of

the traders, explorers and prospectors who led the way, and the men and

women who followed, to work the mines, plant crops, raise livestock and

raise families in what is now the great State of Nevada; and be it further

   Resolved, That the residents of Nevada are urged to join in the

celebrations as our history is remembered and relived during Dayton

Founder’s Day: Dayton’s 150th Birthday Party, honoring pioneer women,

to be held May 26 and 27, 2001, the events leading up to and the grand

finale of Genoa’s Sesquicentennial Celebration to be held on June 3 and 4,

2001, and the many events held annually in Carson City that recognize its

unique history; and be it further

   Resolved, That these celebrations renew our pride in the state we call

home and rekindle in each of us the spirit of adventure and courage that is

the legacy left to us by these first settlers; and be it further

   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and transmit a copy

of this resolution to the Genoa Sesquicentennial Committee, the Dayton

Historic Society and the Carson City Convention and Visitors’ Bureau.

 

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