Verdi, Nevada

Verdi (/ˈvɜːrdaɪ/ VUR-dye) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washoe County, Nevada, United States on the western side of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area, near Interstate 80. The CDP of Verdi, California lies immediately adjacent across the state line. Both are in the shadow of California's Verdi Range. In 2010, the population was 1,415.[1] Prior to 2010, the community was listed by the U.S. Census Bureau as part of the Verdi-Mogul CDP.[1]

The town of Verdi was named after Giuseppe Verdi by Charles Crocker, founder of the Central Pacific Railroad, when he pulled a slip of paper from a hat and read the name of the Italian opera composer in 1868.[3] The name is pronounced by the local population as VUR-dye.

Verdi is located at 39°31′6″N 119°59′19″W / 39.51833°N 119.98861°W / 39.51833; -119.98861 (39.5183, -119.9887) on the western border of Nevada, adjacent to the California state line.

In February 2008 an earthquake swarm began, and ended in June 2008. The total number of earthquakes in the census-designated place reached over 5,000 and ranged in magnitude from 0.7 to 4.7 on the Richter magnitude scale.

Virginia City, Nevada

Virginia City sprang up as a boomtown with the 1859 discovery of the Comstock Lode, the first major silver deposit discovery in the United States, with numerous mines opening. At the city's peak of population in the mid-1870s, it had an estimated 25,000 residents. The mines' output declined after 1878, and the city itself declined as a result. As of the 2010 Census the population of Virginia City was about 855,[3] and that of Storey County 4,000.

Peter O'Riley and Patrick McLaughlin are credited with the discovery of the Comstock Lode.[4][5]Henry T. P. Comstock's name was associated with the discovery through his own machinations. According to folklore, James Fennimore, "Old Virginny Finney," christened the town when he tripped and broke a bottle of whiskey at a saloon entrance in the northern section of Gold Hill, soon to become Virginia City.[6]

In another story, the "Ophir Diggings", were named in honor of "Old Virginny" by the miners, in recognition of James Finney being "one of the first discoverers of that mining locality, and one of the most successful prospectors in that region." Finney "was the best judge of placer ground in Gold Canyon", locating the quartz footwall of the Ophir on 22 Feb. 1858, located the placers on Little Gold Hill on 28 Jan. 1859, and the placers below Ophir in 1857.[7]

After the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859, the town developed seemingly overnight on the eastern slopes of Mount Davidson, perched at a 6200-foot elevation. Below the town were dug intricate tunnels and shafts for silver mining. The Comstock Lode discovery and subsequent growth of Virginia City was unequaled by the history of other precious metal discoveries. By 1876 Nevada produced over half of all the precious metals in the United States.[8] The Comstock produced silver and gold ore valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars. The wealth supported the Northern cause during the American Civil War and flooded the world monetary markets, resulting in economic changes.

Washoe County, Nevada

Washoe County was created on November 25, 1861, as one of the original nine counties of the Nevada Territory. It is named after the Washoe people who originally inhabited the area. It was consolidated with Roop County in 1864. Washoe City was the first county seat in 1861 and was replaced by Reno in 1871.

Washoe County is the setting of the 1965 episode "The Wild West's Biggest Train Holdup" of the syndicated western television series, Death Valley Days. In the story line, deputy Jim Brand (Charles Bateman) places a locked chain on a Central Pacific Railroad engine until the company agrees to pay its tax assessment. Roy Barcroft played the aging Sheriff Jackson with Pat Priest as his daughter, N Brand.[3]

In 1911, a small group of Bannock under a leader named "Shoshone Mike" killed four ranchers in Washoe County.[4] A posse was formed, and on February 26, 1911, they caught up with the band, and eight of them were killed, along with one member of the posse, Ed Hogle.[5] Three children and a woman who survived the battle were captured. The remains of some of the members of the band were repatriated from the Smithsonian Institution to the Fort Hall Idaho Shoshone-Bannock Tribe in 1994.[6]

As of 2013, "Washoe County is the first school district in the state to offer Paiute classes," offering an elective course in the Paiute language at Spanish Springs High School[8] and North Valleys High School.

West Wendover, Nevada

West Wendover is a small city in Elko County, Nevada, United States. The population was 4,410 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Elko micropolitan area. West Wendover is located on the eastern border of Nevada and the western edge of the Great Salt Lake Desert and is contiguous with Wendover, Utah, with which it is sometimes confused. Interstate 80 runs just north of the cities, while Interstate 80 Business (Wendover Boulevard) runs through the two cities.

West Wendover began to develop in the 1930s and 1940s with the introduction of legalized gambling in the State of Nevada. William "Bill" Smith founded a small cobblestone service station that provided a needed rest to weary travelers crossing the desert terrain of western Utah and eastern Nevada. Today this facility is known as the Wendover Nugget. It wasn't until December 2001, when the former State Line Casino and Hotel came under new ownership, did this long-standing organization lose its place as the oldest continually operated gaming license for a casino in the State of Nevada; over 66 years.

Through the 1970s and 1980s, West Wendover began to emerge as a destination resort. Additional business arrived constructing more casinos, hotels and other service establishments as well as recreational venues such as the Toana Vista Golf Course. As growth continued to spiral up, the citizens of West Wendover, Nevada, then a township of Elko County, elected to incorporate under self-rule. On July 1, 1991, the city of West Wendover, Nevada, came into existence. Amber S Holt named the city seal of West Wendover encouraging people to, "Come Grow With Us." [3]

In October 1999, the U.S. Department of Transportation moved West Wendover out of the Pacific Time Zone due to the strong economic ties between West Wendover and neighboring Utah. This made the city of West Wendover the only portion of Nevada legally in the Mountain Time Zone.[4] The communities of Jackpot, Jarbidge, Mountain City, and Owyhee in northern Elko County also observe Mountain Time, but only on an unofficial basis.

Winnemucca, Nevada

Winnemucca (/ˌwɪnəˈmʌkə/ ( listen)) is the only incorporated city in and is the county seat of Humboldt County, Nevada, United States.[2] As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 7,396,[3] up 3.1 percent from the 2000 census figure of 7,174. Interstate 80 passes through the city, where it meets U.S. Route 95.

The town was named for the 19th-century Chief Winnemucca of the local Northern Paiute tribe, who traditionally lived in this area.[4] He and his band had a camp near here. Winnemucca, loosely translated, means "one moccasin." The chief's daughter, Sarah Winnemucca, was an advocate for education and fair treatment of the Paiute and Shoshone tribes in the area. Their family all learned to speak English, and Sarah worked as an interpreter, scout and messenger for the United States Army during the Bannock War of 1878. In 1883 Sarah Winnemucca published the first autobiography written by a Native American woman,[5] based on hundreds of lectures she'd given in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. It has been described as "one of the most enduring ethno-historical books written by an American Indian."[5]

On September 16, 1868, the Central Pacific Railroad reached Winnemucca, and was officially opened on October 1 of that year. It was on the First Transcontinental Railroad.[6] It was part of the transcontinental line.

Winnemucca's brothel district, while smaller now than in the 1980s, is known as "The Line" or "The Ring Circle", based on the layout of the street where the brothels are located.[citation needed] Sex workers in the town must register their vehicles with the local police.[7]

Yerington, Nevada

Yerington is a city in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. The population was 3,048 at the 2010 census.[3] It is named after Henry M. Yerington, Superintendent of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad from 1868 to 1910. The city incorporated in 1907.[4] It is the current county seat of Lyon County, the first county seat being established at Dayton on November 29, 1861.[5] After the Dayton Court House burned down in 1909, the seat was moved to Yerington in 1911.

As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 2,883 people, 1,203 households, and 729 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,698.4 people per square mile (654.8/km²). There were 1,359 housing units at an average density of 800.6 per square mile (308.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.53% White, 0.17% African American, 6.24% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 5.79% from other races, and 2.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.44% of the population.

There were 1,203 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.4% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29, and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city, the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 25.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.

Zephyr Cove, Nevada

Zephyr Cove is a census-designated place (CDP) in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. The population was 565 at the 2010 census.[1] Prior to 2010 it was part of the Zephyr Cove–Round Hill Village CDP.

Zephyr Cove is located on the east shore of Lake Tahoe at 39°0′1″N 119°57′9″W / 39.00028°N 119.95250°W / 39.00028; -119.95250. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.8 km2), of which 2.1 square miles (5.5 km2) is land and 0.12 square miles (0.3 km2), or 5.47%, is water.[1]

Kingsbury Middle School was a grade 6–8 middle school located in Zephyr Cove, part of the Douglas County School District. Due to the declining student population in the area, the school closed in 2008 with the property being offered for sale in 2012.

Sparks, Nevada

Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It was founded in 1904 and incorporated on March 15, 1905, and is located just east of Reno. The 2010 U.S. Census Bureau population count was 90,264.[2] It is the fifth most populous city in Nevada. It is named after the late Nevada Governor John Sparks, a member of the Silver Party.

The area that is now Sparks was first inhabited by the Washoe people. Euro-American settlement began in the early 1850s, and the population density remained very low until 1904 when the Southern Pacific Railroad built a switch yard and maintenance sheds there. As the population increased a city was established, first called Harriman, after E. H. Harriman, president of the Southern Pacific, and then renamed Sparks, after John Sparks, then Governor of Nevada.[3][4]

Sparks remained a small town until the 1950s, when economic growth in Reno triggered a housing boom north of the railroad in the area of Sparks. During the 1970s, the area south of the railroad started to fill up with warehouses and light industry. In 1984, the tower for the Nugget Casino Resort was finished, giving Sparks its first, and currently only, high-rise casino.[5] In 1996, the redevelopment effort of the B Street business district across from the Nugget that started in the early 1980s took a step forward with the opening of a multi-screen movie complex and the construction of a plaza area. This area, now known as Victorian Square, is a pedestrian-friendly district that hosts many open-air events.[3]

Under direction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a comprehensive dynamic water quality computer model, the DSSAM Model, was developed (Earth Metrics, 1987) to analyze impacts of a variety of land use and stormwater management decisions throughout the 3,120-square-mile (8,100 km2) Truckee River basin; this model was used to develop a set of surface runoff stormwater management measures for Sparks in the 1980s.[6]

Stateline, Nevada

Stateline is a census-designated place (CDP) on the east shore of Lake Tahoe in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. The population was 842 at the 2010 census. The population swells considerably during the busy winter and summer seasons, due to the high number of hotel rooms and rental accommodations available.

Stateline is home to five open casinos, four of which qualify as resorts: MontBleu (formerly Caesar's), Harrah's Lake Tahoe, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe (formerly Horizon), and Harveys Lake Tahoe. The Lakeside Inn caters to locals and modest gamblers.

Many of the hotels in the neighboring town of South Lake Tahoe, California organize buses to take residents to the casinos in Stateline. Stateline and South Lake Tahoe are effectively one town, with the state line intersecting with U.S. Route 50 immediately after the Harrah's and Harvey's casinos. As commercial gambling establishments are illegal in California unless built on Indian reservations, the casinos are extremely popular with California residents due to their strategic location right on the stateline.

Another well-known feature of Stateline is Kingsbury Grade, which runs up and over a mountain pass, rising from Lake Tahoe and dropping down to Gardnerville on the other side. Most of Stateline's residential and seasonal accommodation, amenities and services are located on or near Kingsbury Grade. The route can be difficult in the winter months and snow chains are essential during this time. Larger vehicles are required to allow traffic to pass when five or more vehicles are queueing behind them.

Sun Valley, Nevada

Sun Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washoe County, Nevada, USA. The population was 19,299 at the 2010 census.[1] It is north of Reno and is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area.

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 19,461 people, 6,380 households, and 4,816 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,297.2 inhabitants per square mile (500.9/km²). There were 6,703 housing units at an average density of 446.8 per square mile (172.5/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 79.78% White, 2.20% African American, 1.93% Native American, 2.21% Asian, 0.62% Pacific Islander, 9.51% from other races, and 3.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.13% of the population.

There were 6,380 households out of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.39.

In the CDP, the population was spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.