Carson City is the capital of Nevada, the Silver State, and is located along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada approximately 25 miles from beautiful Lake Tahoe. Its history of 1860’s gold and silver booms is filled with the pioneering spirit and a strong belief in independence. Mark Twain arrived there in 1861 and stayed with his brother, Orion, who lived in town. In Roughing It, Twain wrote, "It [Carson City] nestled in the edge of a great plain...." The mountain summits overlooking it, he noted, "seemed lifted clear out of companionship and consciousness of earthly things."

Lake Tahoe

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln, the new President, came to Nevada and asked them to become a state and support the northern states against slavery. On October 31, 1864 statehood was granted thereby enabling him to win the 1864 election and to ratify the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery. Its motto is "Battle Born" because it became a state during the Civil War.

State Capital

In 1870, the capitol building with its gleaming "silver" dome (actually tin) was built. Located next to it was the old U.S. Mint. From 1870 to 1893, it produced almost $50 million in gold and silver coins. The mint is now the Nevada State Museum which houses exhibits about the state’s boom times, its ancient and native peoples, and its flora and fauna. These exhibits include the gorgeous silver service from the World War II battleship USS Nevada; the 17,000-year-old imperial mammoth uncovered in the Black Rock Desert in 1972; and an underground walk-through hard rock mine.

As well as being the state capital, Carson City was a major railroad town for almost 80 years when the Virginia and Truckee Railroad carried lumber up to the mines of Virginia City and ore down to the Carson River mills.

Today, in addition to its government offices and business activities, Carson City, where the EXPORT ASSIST office is located, offers the visitor an array of antique shops, restaurants and hot springs, plus wonderful outdoor sports including golf, skiing, snowboarding, horseback riding, rafting and hiking. In summer, you might even see wild horses and golden eagles along the Carson River.