by Vinny Knowles

Created on: February 24, 2009

A New Yorker named Abraham Curry went to California with the great masses of people who moved there due to the California Gold Rush. But when he got there he was disappointed to find that the land was so expense he could not afford to buy it. So, he turned around and headed back where he had come from in hopes of finding something else.

He, and the others with whom he was traveling, got to the land that would eventually be Nevada. They bought the land that would one day be Carson City for the price of $500 and a few horses. The previous owner had not paid much for the land himself. He had tried to establish a trading post for the people heading west to California, but when the Gold Rush diminished, he gave up on the idea and sold to Curry and his affiliates.

They decided to try the trading post idea themselves. This is just an example of the spirit of Curry. He did not accept defeat easily! Their trading post became very successful and was even competition for a well established Mormon post not far from them in an area then called Eagle Valley.

But they didn't stop there, Abe Curry wanted to start a town. People thought this quite ridiculous. "Why would you want a town way out there in the middle of nowhere?" But none-the-less they did it. Carson City was established in 1858. It was named after the famous American hero Kit Carlson. The skeptics were put to shame when the Western Territory of Utah became called the Territory of Nevada. And then even more good fortune came to the city a year later when the Comstock Lode, a mine rich in silver ore, was discovered in Nevada.

Carson City became the capital of the territory, and in 1864 when Nevada became a state it was named the State capital. Abraham (Abe) Curry was now an integral member of the town and a prosperous land owner. His influence would continue to shape Carlson City. When representatives from the Treasury Department were looking for land for the mint, Abraham Curry persuaded them that Carson City was the place. He went on to oversee the building of the mint and the supervision of the operations of the mint.

It is amazing the influence of this one man in bringing about the development of Carson City, Nevada. If he had just given up, things certainly would have turned out differently. But because of his influence, a city was developed, and prosperous industry came to that region.

Credit is given to the following source:

www.tulving.com/carsonct.

Learn more about this author, Vinny Knowles.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.