Historical Markers of Washoe County & Reno


Nevada Landmarks Home Page

*HM 30*


-- Reno --

Location: Downtown Reno
Directions: Located at Washoe County Courthouse, intersection of Virginia and Mill Streets

This one can be hard to spot along busy Virginia Street!

Location: 1
Visibility: 2
Accessibility: 3
Marker type: St (L)

Description:
Even from the start, Reno wanted big. Reno WAS big and wanted nothing more than to be big. In 1859, it began as "Fuller's Ferry", a small lodging house, ferry and bridge on the Truckee. In fact, the Virginia Street Bridge, just a few yards north of here, would've been the exact location of the ferry, eventually becoming the center of Reno. M.C. Lake bought the property in 1863 and became known as "Lake's Crossing", later becoming the central plaza for present-day Reno. Growth was rapid due to this plaza, a main hub on the Central Pacific Railroad and only continued development from Virginia City's Comstock Lode.

Reno became the county seat in 1871, quickly incorporated in 1876 and in 1906, started the city's reputation as the 'divorce capital of America'. Tourism increased, businesses boomed and a new industry flourished when gambling was legalized in 1931. Today's Reno is not only a bustling metropolis, one of only 2 in Nevada, but caters to the arts and outdoor life in comparison to Las Vegas in the south. The famed Reno Arch just north of here was erected in 1926 with the words spanning across Virginia Street... "Reno, The World's Biggest Little City". Since then, the arch has been replaced three times dawning its inscription by a slogan from a prizefight held in Reno around 1910.