Nevada is mostly arid, its desert terrain broken up by a series of mountain ranges. Part of the Great Basin region, it lies between Utah to the east and California to the west.
Location: Weeks, Lyon County
Relevant issues: Western expansion
Statement of significance: Established in the Carson Valley as a result of the Paiute War of 1860, this adobe fort (1860-1871) provided protection for the emigrant trail to California and the lines of communication that went along with it: the Central Overland Mail Route, the Pony Express, and the projected transcontinental telegraph.
Location: Hobson, White Pine County
Relevant issues: Civil War, military history, western expansion
Statement of significance: Constructed in 1862, Fort Ruby was a temporary emergency post and was a critical defense link for transportation and communication services connecting the Union states of the East and the West at the onset of the Civil War. The fort also protected immigrants on the Overland Trail from Indian attack.
Location: Boulder City, Clark County
Relevant issues: Science and technology, western expansion
Statement of significance: Begun in June, 1933, and dedicated September, 1935, two years ahead of schedule, this concrete arch-gravity storage dam is among the largest and earliest of the Bureau of Reclamation’s massive multiple-purpose dams. By providing electric power, flood control, and irrigation water, this dam made increased levels of population and agricultural production in large areas of the Southwest feasible, affecting not only lands near the river but also urban centers such as Los Angeles.
Location: Reno, Washoe County
Relevant issues: Political history
Statement of significance: From 1890 until his death, this large shingle-style house was the home of Francis Griffith Newlands (1849-1917), congressman (1892-1903) and senator (1903-1917) for Nevada. Newlands was the author of the Reclamation Act of 1902, which placed the federal government in the irrigation business, opening up vast areas of the West to farming.