The settlement of Sparks sprang up virtually overnight when officials of the Southern Pacific Railroad moved maintenance operations from Wadsworth to an area just east of Reno in the summer of 1904. The railroad cited Wadsworth's outdated structures, lack of a good water supply, and the need to straighten dangerous curves in the track as reasons for moving to Sparks. The little community, which today is one of Nevada's major cities, thrived in the once swampy area east of Reno.