Nevada's Big 1-5-0 Trivia Quiz

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.

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.

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.

Answer: False

The United States received revenue from Nevada's silver and gold mining as soon as mining started there. The reason Nevada was rushed to statehood (it had a smaller population than was required) was because President Lincoln wanted another anti-slavery state in the Union before the 1864 election to help pass the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery. Nevada also had strong Republican political leanings; Lincoln was a Republican and for a while it looked like he might be in a three-way race for president in the 1864 election. Nevada was separated from the Utah Territory and entered the Union with nine days to spare before the election! Nevada is also known as the "Battle Born" state because of its entry into the Union during the Civil War.

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.

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.

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.

Answer: nuclear weapons testing

Nine hundred twenty eight nuclear weapons tests were made at the Nevada National Security Site (formerly the Nevada Test Site) between 1951 and 1992. One hundred of the tests were above-ground and the resulting mushroom clouds could be seen 100 miles away in Las Vegas. Quick to find promotional opportunities, Las Vegas began seeking ways to exploit the tests; the promotion probably reached its zenith when Vegas showgirl Lee Merlin, wearing a cotton mushroom cloud bathing suit, was crowned "Miss Atomic Bomb 1957". Subcritical tests are still occasionally performed at the test site.

Answer: Great Basin N.P.

Located near 13,000 ft/3,962 m Wheeler Peak, Great Basin National Park is located about 300 mi/482 km northeast of Las Vegas. Established in 1986, the park features 5,000 year-old bristlecone pine trees, the Lehman Caves National Monument and, according to U.S. Park Rangers at the site, the best viewing of the Milky Way in the U.S. Many of the rock formations date back to the Cambrian period, 541 to 485 million years ago.

Death Valley National Park was established in 1994; Red Rock Canyon and Sloan Canyon are National Conservation Areas.

Answer: 1869

There were always gambling activities in America, going back to before independence. Often the games were rigged and the gamblers were cheaters. Nevada legalized gambling in 1869, five years after achieving statehood. Anti-gambling sentiment led to it being outlawed in Nevada in 1910 (and the rest of America around the same time). The Depression caused states to take another look at gambling. Nevada again legalized gambling in 1931; also in that year Massachusetts decriminalized bingo(!) but no other state would legalize casinos until New Jersey authorized them for Atlantic City in 1978.