Christopher Houston “Kit” Carson: Mountain man & Guide for John C.Fremont

Region Explored

Date Places Named

•1st mission to South Pass, Colorado•2nd mission, from South Pass to California: Sierra Nevada Mountains, back through Mohave

1840’s •Carson City, Nevada•Carson River•Carson Pass•Carson Trail

John C. Fremont

Region Explored Date Places Named

1st Mission: To South Pass

2nd Mission: South Pass to California through Sierra Nevada’s

3rd Mission: Straight to California

1840’s • Fremont, California• Fremont Street (Las Vegas)•Fremont Cannon (given annually to winner of UNR/UNLV football game

Fremont’s Contributions to our area:

•Realized water in Nevada drained inward, named Great Basin

• Named Pyramid Lake due to large rock formation

•Named Truckee River after a Chief who helped leaded him to California

•Named Carson River after his guide, Kit Carson

•Named Las Vegas, which means “the meadows” in Spanish

James “Jim” Beckwourth: African-American

mountain man and scoutNot so Fun Fact:

Beckwourth died by eating poisoned food from the Crow Indians, who had named Beckwourth a chief. They allegedly killed him so his spirit would always be with them.

Region Explored

Date Places Named

Northern portion of Sierra Nevada Mountains, along present day highway 70

1820’s-1830’s

Beckwourth Pass, Beckwourth California, Beckwourth Trail

Peter Skene Ogden:Canadian Fur TrapperRegion Explored

Date Places Named

Humboldt River to Humboldt Sink

1828-1829

Ogden, Utah

Fun Fact: While Trapping along the Humboldt River, Odgen and his men trapped up to 60 beaver PER DAY!!!

Jedediah Smith: famous fur trapper

Fun Fact:

After a Grizzly Bear ripped part of Jedediah’s scalp and ear, he had it sewed back on by one of his men!!!

Fact #2:

Jedediah Smith died at the age of 32 after being attacked by Indians!!

Region Explored

Date Places Named

Southern Nevada (Mohave Desert, Central Nevada

1827 Jedediah Smith State Park,

Jedediah Smith Trail

Sarah Winnemucca • A Paiute Indian, Sarah

Winnemucca fought for Native American rights throughout her life. She also opened numerous schools for Native Americans in Nevada.

Statue of Sarah Winnemucca in CapitolBuilding

Mormon Station

• First permanent white settlement in Nevada, Mormon Station was a stop for settlers traveling on the California Trail and is located in present day Genoa at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Square-set system (or square-set timbering)

• Method of mining invented by Philipp Deidesheimer, square-set timbering helped to prevent mine cave-ins. It framed wood in rectangular cubes to which more cubes could be added above and to the sides. Allowed Comstock miners to dig deeper than ever before!

• Four businessmen and miners who came to dominate Virginia City and the Comstock Lode after striking the “Big Bonanza,” a huge vein of silver and gold. In all, the four shared about $75 million.

-Included John William Mackay, James Graham Fair, James Clair Flood and William Shoney O’Brien

Boom & Bust cycle• Term used to describe the cycle of mining

towns: a quick boom (BOOMTOWNS) leading to a large population, followed by an economic downturn, when the population collapses (Ghost Towns)

*Look at the Photos below to see the cycle!!

Rhyolite, Nevada

1998

Rhyolite, Nevada 1908

James Warren Nye• First territorial Governor of

Nevada, later became a Senator for Nevada

• Nye County is named after him

Nye County

William Morris Stewart• Nevada’s first Senator, famous

for having written the final draft of the 15th amendment to the Constitution, which said that right to vote could not be denied on account of race