Carson City, city (2020 pop. 58,639),
state capital, W Nev., in the Eagle valley; inc. 1875. The city is a trade
center for a mining and agricultural area. State government is the major
employer, and tourism is economically important. The city was laid out in
1858 on the site of Eagle Station, a trading post established (1851) on the
immigrant trail from Salt Lake City to California. A supply station for
miners in the valley, it achieved importance with the discovery (1859) of
the Comstock Lode
and became the terminus of the railroad carrying ore. In 1861, when the
Territory of Nevada was created, the city was made the capital, and in 1864
it became the state capital. Carson City and Ormsby co. were consolidated
into one community in 1969. A U.S. mint, closed in 1893, is now the Nevada
State Museum. Lake Tahoe and the Carson River are nearby.
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