Carson City, a new capital city

In 1861, the three year old town of Carson City was named as the temporary capital of the newly created Nevada Territory, which had been split off from Utah. Nevada was not as big, area-wise, as it is now, the boundaries have been expanded several times since then to the east and to the south. One year later, in 1865, the eastern boundary was extended eastward into Utah one degree of longitude. Then, in 1867, the boundary was extended south, resulting in the southern tip that Nevada has today that includes Las Vegas. This land was taken out of Arizona Territory. Carson City, as was most of the population, was located on the far west edge of this area, next to the California border, in a well-watered area in the eastern foothills of the majestic Sierra Nevada mountain range. Three years later, upon the announcement of statehood for Nevada, the "temporary capital" status was made permanent.
During this momentous decade, the population of Carson City exploded from a mere 714 people to 3,042! The ongoing mining rush in the nearby mountains had alot to do with the growth, but the new capital city status further enhanced the town's growth.
When the decade of the 1870s dawned upon the land, the state government still did not have a state capitol building. They were still meeting in Abraham Curry's Warm Springs Hotel plus any other place they could find that offered sizable office space, such as banks. Some of the state government offices were even located in private homes! It was time to build a capitol building on the plaza in the middle of town that Abe Curry set aside for that purpose. The legislative act that provided for the construction of a state capitol building was signed by the governor on February 23, 1869.
The two-story, native sandstone, building was completed in 1871.
It is a light brown color due to its sandstone construction. The sandstone blocks represent the fact that most of Nevada is desert. The building has arched windows and fluted, Doric columns that are actually metal columns that are painted white to look like marble columns. In fact, all of the trim on this beautiful building is white, the window surrounds, the columns, the railing around the small porch that protrudes over the front entrance, the pediment and the eight-sided, octagonal tower above the building that supports the small silver dome. This octagonal tower also has arched windows in it.