Nevada History Trivia

1. The first transcontinental railway, headed by E.H. Harriman, was pushing through to the west coast when they came to an impasse with a railway coming from the west. Who was leading the charge from California?

From Quiz Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas

Answer: William Clark

E.H.Harriman was the head of the Union Pacific Railroad which bought out the Southern Pacific Railroad after the death of its chief, Collis Huntingdon. Harriman was pushing through to the west coast but did not yet have a base on the coast. Mining baron, William Clark was racing to build a railway linking his bases of Los Angeles and San Pedro with Salt lake City. The two railroad gangs clashed in the Meadow Valley near Las Vegas as there was only room for one line. Eventually a compromise was reached. Clark completed the line, taking the honours of the being the first line, however Harriman was given control of the line, and a base on the west coast. Walter R Bracken was the agent for Union Pacific during the 1922 railroad strike. Gould was a rail tycoon from that era, but not on Clark's crew. Phoenix Rising's Red Team member leith90 used a golden spike to fasten this question into the quiz.

From Quiz Nevada History

Answer: Francisco Garces

Francisco Garces was a Spanish-born priest who is best remembered for spreading Christianity in New Spain, specifically much of what is now the southwestern United States. He first visited what is now Nevada in the 1770s and the area became part of New Spain. Garces was killed in 1781 during a Native American uprising caused by the Spanish failure to adhere to Spanish-Native American treaties.

From Quiz Nevada's Big 1-5-0

Answer: Treaty of Gaudalupe Hidalgo

The peace treaty of Gaudalupe Hidalgo in 1848 ended the Mexican-American War. The U.S. agreed to pay Mexico $15 million and in return received land that would become California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. Some of the land along the west side of the Rocky Mountains would prove to have mineral deposits which would make some people wealthy; much of the area is still being mined today.

From Quiz Tonopah, Queen of the Silver Camps

Answer: Jim Butler

Jim Butler made the discovery but an assayer told him the ore was worthless. Fortunately, his future partner, Tasker Oddie, took them to a different assayer and the ore was worth $600 a ton. The rush was on!

From Quiz Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas

Answer: Black

Hoover Dam was built in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River on the border of Nevada and Arizona during the Great Depression. Boulder Canyon and Black Canyon were both considered for the site of the dam, but since it was to provide hydro-electric power as well as irrigation and flood mitigation, Boulder Canyon was deemed unsuitable. The canyon was too narrow to allow the construction of the hydro-electric plant at the base of the dam, and there was no room for the spillways. Black Canyon could accommodate the forecast needs as well as a railway from Las Vegas, so the site was selected. The Dam was opened in 1936 with traffic permitted along the top. After 2001 there were fears of sabotage by bombing, so a bypass road, along with the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge was constructed and opened to traffic in 2010. Phoenix Rising's Red Team member leith90 beavered away at this question and wedged it into the quiz.

From Quiz Nevada History

Answer: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War by ordering Mexico to cede large parts of the now American Southwest to the United States. This land included much of New Mexico, Texas, California, Nevada, Colorado, Utah and other states. The treaty also set the U.S.-Mexican border along the Rio Grande and gave Mexican citizens living in the new American territories U.S. citizenship if they wanted it. In addition, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo exacerbated the debate between free and slave states in the United States as the issue of the new territories being slave or free areas was of constant, intense debate.

From Quiz Nevada's Big 1-5-0

Answer: Comstock Lode

The Comstock Lode was the first large silver discovery in the United States. Announced in 1859, the discovery caused a mining rush involving more people and producing more wealth than the California gold rush of 1849. Most of the mining on the Comstock Lode was over by 1882 but the mines along the Virginia Range of mountains produced over 300-million dollars worth of silver and gold. Several cities were founded, many of which turned into ghost towns after the miners left. Nevada is still the fifth largest producer of silver in the world. The Pacific and Black Rock lodes were in Arizona; Silver Lake was a silver discovery in New Hampshire.

From Quiz Tonopah, Queen of the Silver Camps

Answer: W. W. Booth

Booth continued running the paper until 1929 when he sold it to Frank Garside.

From Quiz Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas

Answer: Fremont Street

After the state of Nevada allowed counties to decide on the legality of gambling in 1931, the city of Las Vegas acted quickly to legalize it. This was a boom for Fremont Street which became the first paved street in the city as well as receiving the city's first traffic light. Named after the explorer, John C. Fremont, Fremont Street has thousands of neon signs and popular casinos like Binion's Horseshoe, Golden Nugget and Four Queens. This question was straight flushed into the quiz by Phoenix Rising teammate and Red Crew member Triviaballer as part of the team's 2022 World Tour.

From Quiz Nevada History

Answer: Mormons

Mormons are considered the first Americans to establish a permanent presence within Nevada in 1851. Most of these Mormons were moving westward toward California during the gold rush. However, Mormons clashed with the outnumbered non-Mormons and religious tensions were high and often ignored by the rest of the country. During this time, Nevada was called Washoe and the agreements between Mormons and non-Morman cattle ranchers were called the Washoe Code, which was only loosely enforced.

From Quiz Nevada's Big 1-5-0

Answer: Halloween

There was no Halloween celebration (as we know it) in the U.S. at the time but October 31, 1864 was the day Nevada was granted statehood. Since then the official celebration day has been moved to the last Friday in October; in 2014, as Nevada celebrated its sesquicentennial, the celebration day fell on October 31, the exact anniversary date.

From Quiz Tonopah, Queen of the Silver Camps

Answer: Mizpah

Tonopah's mines produced more than $150 million, primarily in silver, from 1900 to 1948. And that was its value when silver was around 10 cents an ounce!

From Quiz Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas

Answer: Moulin Rouge

Moulin Rouge Hotel opened in 1955 but closed after six months! It was the first interracial resort in Las Vegas. Famous black entertainers would perform in other resorts but stay at the Moulin Rouge because they weren't allowed to stay at other resorts. White entertainers and celebrities would also frequent the Moulin Rouge. Although the resort was short-lived, the hotel spurred the civil rights movement in Las Vegas. In March 1960, a meeting was held at the closed Moulin Rouge hotel with local black leaders and city and state officials that ended segregation in Las Vegas. The hotel was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 because of its role in the civil rights movement. The hotel site suffered several fires and the resort was demolished. The famous Moulin Rouge sign was salvaged to the Neon Museum. jaknginger missed out on the Neon Museum when she visited Las Vegas. It will have to be on the next trip's itinerary.

From Quiz Nevada History

Answer: Virginia City

The Comstock Lode was discovered in 1859 and quickly sparked a silver boom. Miners came to Virginia City from all over the United States, hoping to capitalize. Many miners became wealthy and the Comstock Lode brought about new mining technology called the Washoe Process. The boom brought a number of settlers to Nevada and the population began to grow exponentially.

From Quiz Tonopah, Queen of the Silver Camps

Answer: Belmont

Belmont boomed from the 1860s until the 1890s, but by time Tonopah became the county seat, only a handful of people were left. Ione was the first county seat. Goldfield is the county seat of neighboring Esmeralda County and Pahrump is the largest city in Nye County.

From Quiz Nevada History

Answer: Flamingo

The Flamingo opened on 26 December 1946; it lost money until after Siegel was gunned down in Los Angeles in June 1947.

From Quiz Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas

Answer: Western Neon

The sign has a less well known reverse: "Drive Carefully Come Back Soon" is emblazoned on the other side. The sign is in Paradise, not Las Vegas proper, although the location is considered the beginning of The Strip. It is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has a small parking lot to keep photo seekers safer. It was designed by Betty Willis, a visual artist and graphic designer. The style is known as "Googie architecture" which portrays the future through shapes drawn from space and atomic age icons. This question was provided by player pusdoc, who bets she is the same age as the sign.

From Quiz Nevada History

Answer: Northern Club

The Northern Club (which was renamed La Bayou in 1999 until it closed in 2016) was built in 1920 and operate more or less as a speakeasy, offering illegal alcohol and gambling. The word "northern" in the name of the establishment was a secret code word that workers understood meant the place served alcohol during prohibition. It became a legal casino in 1931. Legalized gambling was only supposed to be in operation temporarily to solve Nevada's budget crises but it remains legal and popular to this day.

From Quiz Nevada's Big 1-5-0

Answer: magnesium

Magnesium was one of the wonder metals of World War II. It was used in tracer bullets, incendiaries and aircraft parts. There were large deposits of it in Nevada, so the U.S. government authorized the construction of a processing plant for it in the desert southeast of Las Vegas. Started shortly before the U.S. became involved in the war, a two-mile-long processing area of homes, shops, a post office and 20 miles of electrical and water lines were completed in 11 months. Over 13,000 people were employed at the plant, equal to ten per cent of Nevada's population at the time. After the war, those who stayed in the area founded the city of Henderson, now one of the largest cities in Nevada.

From Quiz Tonopah, Queen of the Silver Camps

Answer: Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp was drawn by the silver rush to Tonopah and went there to open a business and do some mining. His brother, Virgil, accompanied him and served for a short while as a Deputy in nearby Goldfield but died after a couple of months. Wyatt then headed for Alaska.

From Quiz Nevada History

Answer: Moulin Rouge

Before 1955, Vegas casinos were off-limits to African Americans unless they were menial labor or entertainers.

From Quiz Nevada History

Answer: Flamingo

The Flamingo is considered the first luxury/expensive casino and hotel founded in Las Vegas. Prior to Bugsy Siegel, Las Vegas only has a couple of thousand people living there. The Flamingo is the hotel that is said to start the casino industry in Las Vegas and other mobsters and businessmen flocked to Las Vegas to open their own casino/hotels. The Flamingo is built outside of the then city limits because government officials were uncomfortable having Siegel in town. The Flamingo was the first hotel built on the famous Las Vegas Strip.

From Quiz Nevada's Big 1-5-0

Answer: Carson City

The "CC" mint mark on U.S. coins is much-prized by collectors. The Carson City mint operated from 1870 off and on until final closure in 1893. Its output was lower than many other U.S. mints, hence the value of some of the coins. Some of the $20 gold coins stamped at the mint are valued at US$20,000 or more. The mint was established to facilitate minting gold and silver coins from the large nearby deposits of both. After the mint closed the building became Nevada State Museum, Carson City (one of six museums in the state). As part of Nevada's sesquicentennial celebration, four special medallions were designed; some were stamped on "Coin Press No. 1", the first machine installed at the Carson City mint.

From Quiz Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas

Answer: Bugsy Siegel

The beginning developer of the Flamingo project was William Wilkerson. After he ran out of money, or was possibly coerced to give up the reins, Bugsy Siegel, with financial assistance from his fellow mobster, Meyer Lansky, took over Wilkerson's resort. Bugsy Siegel amassed a lot of debt to only open part of the resort in December 1946 but closed about one month later after lackluster talent, bad weather and poor renovations. Bugsy and Lansky were able to finish and add some luxury renovations. They successfully reopened in March 1947. Unfortunately for Mr Siegel, he never reaped the profits of the Flamingo. He was killed in June 1947. The crime is unsolved and one theory suggest his mounting debt and possible skimming from the mob bosses brought his life to an end. His vision of making Las Vegas a showplace came to fruition. Such resorts as the Sahara, the Sands, the New Frontier and the Riviera all were built with help from the mob. Tourism began peaking with top entertainment like Frank sinatra, Elvis presley and Dean Martin. jaknginger visited the Flamingo in March 2022 and might have made a small "donation" in a slot machine in honor of Bugsy.

From Quiz Nevada History

Answer: Pat McCarran

Pat McCarran was a big proponent of aviation studies and pushed hard for the U.S. Government to open military bases, specifically air bases, in Nevada during World War II. He was successful in those efforts and also successfully pushed to make the Air Force a separate branch of the U.S. Military. McCarran is memorialized at the Las Vegas Airport which is named after him.

From Quiz Nevada's Big 1-5-0

Answer: 1916

On December 5, 1916, a mail stage was robbed in Jarbidge, a remote village in northernmost Nevada. Driver Fred Searcy was killed and $4,000 taken. Three suspects were arrested. Ben Kuhl was convicted of the murder. He was the first killer in U.S. history to be convicted by palm print evidence. The money was never found; it is rumored to be buried somewhere in Jarbidge Canyon.

From Quiz Tonopah, Queen of the Silver Camps

Answer: Victor

The mines at Tonopah were dry. The Victor was an exception. Drillers hit a hot spring at the 1900' level. As a result, large pumps were installed to get rid of the water. This was used to water a large farm below the town. Since the water was not usable for human consumption, the town's supply had to be piped from sixteen miles away.

From Quiz Nevada History

Answer: South Mountain

Reno served at both Second Bull Run and Chantilly, but he was killed by a bullet to the chest at South Mountain on 14 September 1862.

From Quiz Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas

Answer: Howard Hughes

In 1966, Howard Hughes arrived in Las Vegas and began a spending spree, buying up casinos. He had just sold his stock in TWA airlines and had a few million burning a hole in his pocket. He saw the potential of what was a small desert strip lined with casinos, and envisioned a more tourist friendly big city. He targeted establishments connected with organized crime, purchasing The Castaways, The Landmark, The Sands, amongst others and reduced the influence of the Mob making him a powerful force in Nevada. He remained there for 4 years living as a recluse in a penthouse, his health deteriorating. He left the town in 1970 never to return. Las Vegas remains a corporate dominated community due to Hughes' influence. Smpdit spruced up this question (did you see what she did there?)

From Quiz Nevada History

Answer: Nuclear bomb testing

Frenchman Flat is located within the Nevada Proving Grounds which was a nuclear test sight in the 1950s. It is a dry lake bed in the then sparsely populated Nye County. Nevada's dry desert was considered prime for nuclear testing and thousands of tests were conducted in the 1950s and early 1960s.

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