Editing Nevada (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Nevada}}{{Further|History of Las Vegas}}

=== Indigenous history ===
Before the arrival of Europeans, the earliest inhabitants were Indigenous tribes including the [[Goshute]], [[Southern Paiute people|Southern Paiute]], [[Mohave people|Mohave]], and Wašišiw ([[Washoe people]]).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://jic.nv.gov/About/History_of_Nevada/ |title=History of Nevada |access-date=March 14, 2022 |archive-date=November 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106194807/https://jic.nv.gov/About/History_of_Nevada/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6UTVDwAAQBAJ&dq=Before+the+arrival+of+Europeans%2C+the+earliest+inhabitants+were+Native+American+tribes+including+the+Shoshone%2C+the+Paiute%2C+the+Mohave%2C+and+the+Washoe.&pg=PA185|title = Native Americans State by State|isbn = 9780785835875|last1 = Sapp|first1 = Rick|date = October 16, 2018| publisher=Book Sales |access-date = March 25, 2022|archive-date = April 17, 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220417035929/https://books.google.com/books?id=6UTVDwAAQBAJ&dq=Before+the+arrival+of+Europeans,+the+earliest+inhabitants+were+Native+American+tribes+including+the+Shoshone,+the+Paiute,+the+Mohave,+and+the+Washoe.&pg=PA185|url-status = live}}</ref>

===Before 1861===
{{Main|1 = The Californias#History|2 = Alta California}}
{{further|1 = Treaty of Córdoba|2 = Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire|3 = First Mexican Empire|4 = Provisional Government of Mexico|5 = First Mexican Republic|6 = Centralist Republic of Mexico|7 = Siete Leyes|8 = Definitive treaty of peace and friendship between Mexico and Spain}}

[[File:Mexico 1824 (equirectangular projection).png|thumb|upright=1.5|Mexico in 1824. [[Alta California]] included today's Nevada.|left]]

[[Francisco Garcés]] was the first European in the area.<ref>{{cite web |title=Explorers and Settlers in Nevada |url=http://scottforesman.com/state/nv/washoe/pdfs/g4_less03.pdf |publisher=Washoe County School District |page=2 |access-date=May 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716020035/http://scottforesman.com/state/nv/washoe/pdfs/g4_less03.pdf |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nevada was annexed as a part of the [[Spanish Empire]] in the northwestern territory of [[New Spain]]. Administratively, the area of Nevada was part of the [[Provincias Internas|Commandancy General of the Provincias Internas]] in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Nevada became a part of [[Alta California]] (Upper California) province in 1804 when [[the Californias]] were split. With the [[Mexican War of Independence]] won in 1821, the province of Alta California became a territory (state) of Mexico, with a small population.

[[Jedediah Smith]] entered the [[Las Vegas Valley]] in 1827, [[Peter Skene Ogden]] traveled the [[Humboldt River]] in 1828, and in 1829 a merchant from [[Santa Fe de Nuevo México|Nuevo México]] named [[Antonio Armijo]] streamlined travel along the [[Old Spanish Trail (trade route)|Old Spanish Trail]]. Chronicling [[Old Spanish Trail (trade route)#Armijo Route|Armijo's route]] his scout [[Raphael Rivera]] was the first to name Las Vegas, in an 1830 report to governor [[José Antonio Chaves]]. Following the suggestions by Rivera of a spring, on the published expedition's map, located in the Las Vegas area [[John C. Frémont]] set up camp in [[Las Vegas Springs]] in 1844. In 1847, Mormons established the [[State of Deseret]], claiming all of Nevada within the Great Basin and the Colorado watershed. They built the first permanent settlement in what is now Nevada, called [[Genoa, Nevada|Mormon Station]] (now Genoa), in 1851. Additionally, in June 1855, William Bringhurst and 29 other Mormon missionaries built the first permanent structure, a 150-foot square [[Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park|adobe fort]], northeast of downtown Las Vegas, converging on the Spanish and [[Mormon Road]]s. The fort remained under [[Salt Lake City]]'s control until the winter of 1858–1859, and the route remained largely under the control of Salt Lake City and [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]] tradespersons.

As such, these pioneers laid the foundation for the emergence of the initial settlements between the [[Sierra Nevada]]s and [[Mojave Desert]] and within the Las Vegas Valley. The enduring influence of [[New Mexico]] and [[Utah]] culture has since profoundly impacted Nevada's identity, manifesting through [[New Mexican cuisine]] and [[Mormon foodways]] or [[New Mexico music|New Mexican]] and [[Mormon folk music]]s, into the fabric of Nevada's own cultural landscape.

As a  result of the [[Mexican–American War]] and the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]], Mexico permanently lost Alta California in 1848. The new areas acquired by the United States continued to be administered as territories. As part of the [[Mexican Cession]] (1848) and the subsequent [[California Gold Rush]] that used [[Emigrant Trail]]s through the area, the [[Territorial evolution of Nevada|state's area evolved]] first as part of the [[Utah Territory]] and [[New Mexico Territory]], then the [[Nevada Territory]] (March 2, 1861; named for the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Nevada&searchmode=none |access-date=May 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606102953/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Nevada&searchmode=none |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Early 19th Century locomotive in Ely, Nevada.JPG|thumb|Sculpture representing a steam locomotive, in Ely, Nevada. Early locomotives played an important part in Nevada's mining industry.|left]]

The first discovery of a major U.S. deposit of [[silver ore]] occurred in [[Comstock Lode]] under [[Virginia City, Nevada]], in 1859.

===Separation from Utah Territory===
{{Main|Utah Territory|Organic act#List of organic acts|Nevada Territory|Nevada in the American Civil War}}
[[File:Nevada Territory in 1861.svg|thumb|upright|Nevada territory in 1861]]
On March 2, 1861, the Nevada Territory separated from the Utah Territory and adopted its current name, shortened from ''The Sierra Nevada'' (Spanish for "snow-covered mountain range"). The 1861 southern boundary is commemorated by [[Nevada Historical Markers]] 57 and 58 in Lincoln and Nye counties.

===Statehood (1864)===
{{Main|Admission to the Union|List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union|Nevada in the American Civil War|Constitution of Nevada}}
[[File:Map of the States of California and Nevada by SB Linton 1876.jpg|thumb|Map of the States of California and Nevada by SB Linton, 1876]]
Eight days before the [[1864 United States presidential election|presidential election of 1864]], Nevada became the 36th state in the Union, despite lacking the minimum 60,000 residents that [[United States Congress|Congress]] typically required a potential state to have in order to become a state.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia
|title=Nevada
|author1-first = Roman J. | author1-last = Zorn
|author2-first = Gregory Lewis | author2-last = McNamee
|display-authors = etal
|year=2023
|encyclopedia= Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Nevada-state/History|access-date=2023-03-17|language=en}}</ref> At the time, Nevada's population was little more than 40,000.<ref name=HistoryChannel>{{cite web |title=The U.S. Congress admits Nevada as the 36th state |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-u-s-congress-admits-nevada-as-the-36th-state |publisher=The History Channel |access-date=September 30, 2023 |date=October 29, 2020 }}</ref> Governor Nye was frustrated that previous attempts to send the constitution via overland mail and by sea had failed by October 24, so on October 26 the full text was sent by telegraph at a cost of $4,303.27<ref name=NationalArchives>{{cite web |title=National Archives Celebrates the 145th Anniversary of Nevada Statehood |url=https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2009/nr09-127.html |publisher=National Archives of the United States |access-date=November 4, 2011 |date=September 23, 2009 |archive-date=October 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020221208/http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2009/nr09-127.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Efn|The National Archives press release states that the cost was $4,313.27, but the amount $4,303.27 is actually written on the document.}}{{snd}}the most costly telegraph on file at the time for a single dispatch, {{Inflation|US|4303.27|1864|r=2|fmt=eq}}. Finally, the response from Washington came on October 31, 1864: "the pain is over, the child is born, Nevada this day was admitted into the Union". Statehood was rushed to the date of October 31 to help ensure [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s reelection on November{{spaces}}8 and post-Civil War [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] dominance in Congress,<ref>Rocha Guy, [http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/nsla/archives/myth/myth12.htm ''Historical Myth a Month: Why Did Nevada Become A State?''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113222250/http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/nsla/archives/myth/myth12.htm |date=January 13, 2008 }}</ref> as Nevada's mining-based economy tied it to the more industrialized [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]. As it turned out, however, Lincoln and the Republicans won the election handily and did not need Nevada's help.

Nevada is one of only two states to significantly expand its borders after admission to the Union, with the other being [[Missouri]], which acquired additional territory in 1837 due to the [[Platte Purchase]]. In 1866 another part of the western Utah Territory was added to Nevada in the eastern part of the state, setting the current eastern boundary. Nevada achieved its current southern boundaries on January 18, 1867, when it absorbed the portion of [[Pah-Ute County, Arizona|Pah-Ute County]] in the [[Arizona Territory]] west of the Colorado River, essentially all of present-day Nevada south of the [[37th parallel north|37th parallel]]. The transfer was prompted by the discovery of gold in the area, and officials thought Nevada would be better able to oversee the expected population boom. This area includes all of what is now [[Clark County, Nevada|Clark County]] and the southern-most portions of Esmeralda, Lincoln, and Nye counties.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tannenbaum |first1=Austin |title=Did Nevada's original southern boundary exclude Las Vegas? |url=https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/fact-brief-did-nevadas-original-southern-boundary-exclude-las-vegas |website=The Nevada Independent |access-date=1 December 2024 |date=March 10, 2023}}</ref>

[[File:A654, Tom Kelly's bottle house, Rhyolite, Nevada, United States, 2011.jpg|thumb|Bottle house in the mining ghost town of [[Rhyolite, Nevada|Rhyolite]]; built in 1906 with about 50,000 bottles<ref>Coffin, Laura A. (9 March 2012). [https://www.nbmog.org/bottlehouse The Bottle Houses of the Old West] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20221001153501/https://www.nbmog.org/bottlehouse archive]). [[New Bedford Museum of Glass]]. Retrieved 13 February 2024. "In 1906, at the age of 76...[Tom Kelly] laid all the bottles on their sides, with the bottoms facing out, and mortared them together with adobe mud."</ref>]]
Mining shaped Nevada's economy for many years (see ''[[Silver mining in Nevada]]''). When [[Mark Twain]] lived in Nevada during the period described in ''[[Roughing It]]'', mining had led to an industry of speculation and immense wealth. Both mining and population temporarily declined in the late 19th century. However, the rich silver strike at [[Tonopah, Nevada|Tonopah]] in 1900, followed by strikes in [[Goldfield, Nevada|Goldfield]] and [[Rhyolite, Nevada|Rhyolite]], created a second mining boom in  Nevada and Nevada's population.

====Gambling and labor====
Unregulated [[gambling]] was commonplace in the early Nevada mining towns but was outlawed in 1909 as part of a nationwide anti-gambling crusade. Because of subsequent declines in mining output and the decline of the agricultural sector during the [[Great Depression]], Nevada again legalized gambling on March 19, 1931, with approval from the legislature. Governor [[Fred B. Balzar]]'s signature enacted the most liberal divorce laws in the country and open gambling. The reforms came just eight days after the federal government presented the $49{{spaces}}million construction contract for Boulder Dam (now [[Hoover Dam]]).<ref>Moe, Al W. ''Nevada's Golden Age of Gambling'', [https://www.amazon.com/Nevadas-Golden-Gambling-Revised-Expanded/dp/0971501904/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322275959&sr=1-1 Puget Sound Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313065525/https://www.amazon.com/Nevadas-Golden-Gambling-Revised-Expanded/dp/0971501904/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322275959&sr=1-1 |date=March 13, 2020 }}, 2002, p. 18</ref>

====Nuclear testing====
The [[Nevada Test Site]], {{convert|65|mi}} northwest of the city of Las Vegas, was founded on January 11, 1951, for the testing of [[nuclear weapons]]. The site consists of about {{convert|1350|sqmi}} of the desert and mountainous terrain. [[Nuclear test]]ing at the Nevada Test Site began with a {{convert|1|ktonTNT|sp=us}} nuclear bomb dropped on [[Frenchman Flat]] on January 27, 1951. The last atmospheric test was conducted on July 17, 1962, and the underground testing of weapons continued until September 23, 1992. The location is known for having the highest concentration of nuclear-detonated weapons in the U.S.

Over 80% of the state's area is owned by the federal government. This is mainly because [[Homestead Acts|homesteads]] were not permitted in large enough sizes to be viable in the arid conditions that prevail throughout desert Nevada. Instead, early settlers would homestead land surrounding a water source, and then graze livestock on the adjacent public land, which is useless for agriculture without access to water (this pattern of [[ranching]] still prevails).

==== 2020s ====
The [[COVID-19 pandemic]] was confirmed in Nevada on March 5, 2020. Because of concerns about [[coronavirus disease 2019]] (COVID-19), Nevada governor [[Steve Sisolak]] declared a [[state of emergency]] on March 12, 2020. Four days later, Nevada reported its first death. On March 17, 2020, Sisolak ordered the closure of non-essential businesses in the state to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Various protests were held against Sisolak's shutdown order beginning in April 2020. Nevada launched the first phase of its reopening on May 9, 2020. Restaurants, retailers, outdoor malls, and hair salons were among the businesses allowed to reopen, but with precautions in place, such as limiting occupancy to 50 percent. A second phase went into effect on May 29, 2020. It allowed for the reopening of [[List of Nevada state parks|state parks]] and businesses such as bars, gyms, and movie theaters. Casinos began reopening on June 4, 2020.