Online Nevada Encyclopedia

Politics and Government

Clark County Courthouse

Organized in 1905, Las Vegas has remained the county seat of Clark County since its creation. Before the county was organized, civic leaders collected $1,800 and built the first courthouse in Las Vegas in 1909. The simple square structure was made of concrete and included a Mission Revival style parapet similar to that of Esmeralda County's courthouse. The first county meeting was held in the building in 1909.

Churchill County Seats

Churchill County was an original county formed when the Nevada Territory was established in 1861. The population at that time was small, and, for governing purposes, Churchill was attached to Lyon County, with the county seat being established at Buckland's Station. From 1861 to 1865 the county seat remained there.

Churchill County Courthouse

In Churchill County's early years, the location of the courthouse moved several times due to an unstable economy. Originally located in La Plata in 1864, it was moved to Stillwater in 1868. The Newlands Project and agricultural growth at the turn of the century prompted a final move to Fallon.

Charles Russell

Many Nevada governors have faced challenging times. Few have faced such sustained challenges over their entire term of office as those of Charles Russell.

Born on December 27, 1903 in Lovelock and schooled at Deeth and Elko, Russell graduated from the University of Nevada. He taught school in Ruby Valley in 1927, and then moved to Ely, eventually becoming editor of the Ely Record. In 1934, he won the first of three assembly terms before moving to the state senate in 1940.

Charles Pember Squires

Charles Pember "Pop" Squires, prominent pioneer Las Vegas newspaper editor and publisher, is sometimes called the "Father of Las Vegas." He was even referred to as "Mr. Las Vegas" before singer Wayne Newton captured the title. During Squires's long tenure as a newspaper editor-publisher, he owned the Las Vegas Age for thirty-two years.

Charles Evans

Charles Evans rose fast in Nevada politics, and fell just as quickly. Born Charles Robley Evans in Breckenridge, Illinois on August 9, 1866, he was in the Manhattan, Nevada, mining boom by 1905, reportedly running a saloon and gambling house.

Charcoal Burner's War of 1879

In 1879, the so-called Charcoal Burners War pitted Italian charcoal burners against companies that bought and used the product. During the 1870s, hundreds of Italians and Swiss immigrants (many Italian speaking) settled in the newly emerging Eureka Mining District. Many of these arrivals brought an Alpine tradition of slowly burning logs in an oxygen-starved environment to produce charcoal.

Carson City Mint

The Carson City Mint was one of only seven federal mints constructed in the United States. An 1863 Act of Congress established it as a branch mint, but the Civil War and congressional appropriations delayed its construction until 1867. Treasury Department architect A. B. Mullett designed the building. Workers completed the mint in 1869 and struck its first coin in 1870. In 1874, it was awarded full status as a United States Mint along with facilities in San Francisco and New Orleans under the administration of the original U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.

Campaign Finance

Nevada's first attempts to regulate campaign finance occurred in the 1890s with the birth of the Silver Party and state legislators who introduced the first campaign finance reform measure in 1895. Modern campaign finance law continues to develop in Nevada and now requires reports of campaign contributions and expenditures, places limits on the amount one person can contribute to a candidate or question, and regulates the time period for contributions.

Bob Brown

Few journalists and political figures have been more involved in Nevada politics than Bob Brown. Born in Glendale, California, he was the son of a newspaperman and started working in a pressroom when he was nine. He worked his way through college as a press operator for newspapers in New Mexico and Wyoming before spending five years with United Press, mainly covering the Far East and Middle East.

Pages

Subscribe to Politics and Government

About ONE

Contact Us