Editing Reno, Nevada (section)

===Early history===
Archaeological finds place the eastern border for the prehistoric [[Martis people]] in the Reno area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sagehen.ucnrs.org/CSFRS/petros.htm |title=North Fork petroglyphs |access-date=August 15, 2008 |last=Brauman |first=Sharon K. |date=October 6, 2004 |publisher=ucnrs.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724171614/http://sagehen.ucnrs.org/CSFRS/petros.htm |archive-date=July 24, 2008 }}</ref> As early as the mid-1850s, a few pioneers settled in the [[Truckee Meadows]], a relatively fertile valley through which the [[Truckee River]] made its way from [[Lake Tahoe]] to [[Pyramid Lake (Nevada)|Pyramid Lake]]. In addition to [[subsistence farming]], these early residents could pick up business from travelers along the [[California Trail]], which followed the Truckee westward, before branching off towards [[Donner Lake]], where the formidable obstacle of the Sierra Nevada began.

[[Gold]] was discovered in the vicinity of [[Virginia City, Nevada|Virginia City]] in 1850, and a modest mining community developed, but the discovery of [[silver]] in 1859 at the [[Comstock Lode]] led to a [[silver rush|mining rush]], and thousands of emigrants left their homes, bound for the West, hoping to find a fortune.

To provide the necessary connection between Virginia City and the California Trail, Charles W. Fuller built a log toll bridge across the Truckee River in 1859. A small community that served travelers soon grew near the bridge.{{r|VCS 2023/01/11}} After two years, Fuller sold the bridge to Myron C. Lake, who continued to develop the community by adding a grist mill, kiln, and livery stable to the hotel and eating house. He renamed it "Lake's Crossing". Most of what is present-day western Nevada was formed as the [[Nevada Territory]] from part of [[Utah Territory]] in 1861.

By January 1863, the [[Central Pacific Railroad]] (CPRR) had begun laying tracks east from [[Sacramento, California]], eventually connecting with the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] at [[Promontory, Utah]], to form the [[First transcontinental railroad]]. Lake deeded land to the CPRR in exchange for its promise to build a depot at Lake's Crossing. In 1864, Washoe County was consolidated with [[Roop County, Nevada|Roop County]], and Lake's Crossing became the county's largest town. Lake had earned himself the title "founder of Reno".<ref>Guy Louis Rocha, "Reno's First Robber Baron," ''Nevada Magazine'' 40,2 (March–April 1980), p. 28.</ref> Once the railroad station was established, the town of Reno officially came into being on May 9, 1868.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://reno.gov/government/departments/community-development-department/historic-resources/history-of-reno |title=History of Reno |publisher=City of Reno |access-date=2014-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714125111/http://reno.gov/government/departments/community-development-department/historic-resources/history-of-reno |archive-date=July 14, 2014 }}</ref> CPRR construction superintendent [[Charles Crocker]] named the community after Major General [[Jesse L. Reno|Jesse Lee Reno]], a Union officer killed in the Civil War at the [[Battle of South Mountain]].

In 1871, Reno became the county seat of the newly expanded Washoe County, replacing the county seat in [[Washoe City, Nevada|Washoe City]]. However, political power in Nevada remained with the mining communities, first Virginia City and later [[Tonopah, Nevada|Tonopah]] and [[Goldfield, Nevada|Goldfield]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY |url=https://epubs.nsla.nv.gov/statepubs/epubs/210777-1996-3Fall.pdf |access-date=11 September 2023 |website=epubs.nsla.nv.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Cegavske|first=Barbara .K.|title=Political History of Nevada|year=2016|location=Nevada}}</ref>

The extension of the [[Virginia and Truckee Railroad]] to Reno in 1872 provided a boost to the new city's economy. In the following decades, Reno continued to grow and prosper as a business and agricultural center and became the principal settlement on the transcontinental railroad between Sacramento and [[Salt Lake City]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Visit Reno, Nevada!|url=https://www.iise.org/Annual2/Details.aspx?id=21972|website=www.iise.org|access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref>
As the mining boom waned early in the 20th century, Nevada's centers of political and business activity shifted to the nonmining communities, especially Reno and [[Las Vegas]]. Nevada is still the third-largest gold producer in the world, after [[South Africa]] and [[Australia]]; the state yielded 6.9% of the world's supply in 2005 world gold production.<ref>{{cite web|author=John_O'Neill_100001295309124 |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/gold-hits-record-high |title=ReviewJournal.com – News – Gold hits record high |publisher=Lvrj.com |date=January 9, 2008 }}</ref>

The [[Reno Arch]] was erected on Virginia Street in 1926 to promote the upcoming Transcontinental Highways Exposition of 1927. The arch included the words "Nevada's Transcontinental Highways Exposition" and the dates of the exposition. After the exposition, the Reno City Council decided to keep the arch as a permanent downtown gateway, and Mayor E.E. Roberts asked the citizens of Reno to suggest a slogan for the arch. No acceptable slogan was received until a $100 prize was offered, and G.A. Burns of Sacramento was declared the winner on March 14, 1929, with "Reno, the Biggest Little City in the World".<ref name =shoreno>{{cite book|title= A short history of Reno |first=Barbara|last= Land|author2=Myrick Land |page=67|publisher= University of Nevada Press|year=1995 |location=Reno, Nevada|isbn =978-0-87417-262-1}}</ref>