What are the Five Oldest Standing Courthouses in Nevada?

 

Belmont Courthouse

   One thing about old courthouses is that they are usually imposing and dignified. It’s clear the architects who designed them wanted them to be very grand yet serious, befitting of a place where justice was handed out.

   That is certainly the case with the five oldest standing courthouses in the state of Nevada. Each may have a different design but all share a similar DNA, which declares them to be important places where important matters—often involving life or death—could be settled.

   While not the first courthouse in the state—that honor most likely would have to go to a two-story, brick courthouse built in Dayton in 1864 (which burned in 1909)—the Douglas County Courthouse in Genoa, built in 1865, has the distinction of being the oldest standing courthouse in the state.

   The Genoa courthouse, which had first floor offices, a courtroom on the second floor and a jail to the rear of the building, was built at a cost of about $20,000, with construction completed in about six months. It served as the county courthouse until 1916, when the county seat was transferred to Minden.

   During the following four decades, the building served as an elementary school. In 1969, it became a local museum, which it remains to this day.

   The second oldest standing courthouse in the state is located in the historic mining town of Austin in central Nevada. Built in 1871, this two-story brick structure served as the Lander County Courthouse until 1979, when the county seat was relocated from Austin to Battle Mountain.

   Like the Genoa courthouse, the first floor of the building served as offices while the second floor housed a courtroom. Despite no longer serving as a courthouse, the building has remained in good shape and continues to serve as county offices.

   Next up on the list of Nevada’s oldest standing courthouses is the so-called Million Dollar Courthouse in Pioche. Constructed in 1871-72, the two-story brick courthouse, which has been stabilized and restored over the years, also had first floor offices, a second-floor courtroom, and jails built to the rear.

   The structure is known as the Million Dollar Courthouse because, according to records, of how it was financed. While the original contract called for the building to cost no more than $26,000, the final cost to taxpayers was more than $800,000 because it was funded by bonds that were refinanced several times during the following decades. It was finally paid off in 1938.

   Perhaps ironically, the year the debt was settled was also the year the county opened a new courthouse and county offices in Pioche, moving out of the original building that was no longer adequate. In subsequent years, the building has become a local museum and community center.

   The fourth oldest courthouse in Nevada is actually located in the central Nevada ghost town of Belmont. Built in 1874 at a cost of $34,000, the Nye County Courthouse was a grand two-story brick structure with an ornate Italianate architecture that included six brick chimneys and a Tuscan-style cupola on top.

   Belmont’s time as the county seat came to an end in 1905, with the rise of the mining boomtown of Tonopah. As the town of Belmont began to decline, the courthouse was eventually abandoned.

   In 1974, the building was deeded to the state of Nevada to become part of the Nevada State Park system, which helped to stabilize and rehabilitate the structure. In 2012, it was turned over to a non-profit group, The Friends of the Belmont Courthouse, which seeks to preserve and protect the site.

   Today, the group provides public tours of the building by appointment (https://belmontcourthouse.com/).

   The final member of the quintet of historic courthouses in the state that have remained standing for almost a century and a half is the Storey County Courthouse in Virginia City.

   Built in 1876, the courthouse, which is made of brick and iron, boasts an elaborate Italianate-style façade made of metal and, according to historian Ron James, “is the most opulent of those built in nineteenth-century Nevada.”

   The courthouse, which remains in use, replaced an earlier building on the same site, the Odd Fellows Hall, which the county had rented for offices and a courthouse. That structure was destroyed during the great fire of 1875, which burned much of the city.

   Perhaps the most talked-about aspect of the Storey County Courthouse is the statue of Lady Justice that is perched above the building entrance.

   Unlike most renditions of Justice, this statue is not blindfolded, which has led many to believe it makes some kind of statement about frontier justice. Historians, however, note that the lack of a blindfold was not all that unusual on Lady Justice statues of the time.

   For more information about Nevada’s historic courthouses, pick up a copy of Ron James’ excellent book, “Temples of Justice,” published in 1994 by the University of Nevada Press.

Reno Once Boasted an 'Isle of Sin' in the Truckee River

1918 Map showing Reno's Infamous Scott Island (now gone)

   During the early to mid-20th century, Reno residents who tumbled to the bottom of the city’s economic ladder would often find themselves residing—sometimes outside—on a patch of land surrounded by the waters of the Truckee River.

   Known as Scott Island (and also called Monkey Island), it was a haven for hobos, transients, those with substance abuse problems, and others who had no place else to go. A 1958 Reno Evening Gazette article delicately described residents as “Reno’s less-than wealthy outdoor residents.”

   Scott Island was actually not a true island. It was a 16-acre, somewhat football-shaped piece of land on the south side of the Truckee River that, starting in the earl 1890s, had been cut off from the rest of Reno by an irrigation ditch.

   In addition to serving as an outdoor flophouse, over the years the island also was host to the Reno Boat Club’s clubhouse, alfalfa fields, a radio station tower, cabins, and a fairly nice house. In later years, it was the site of a garbage/salvage yard and a concrete plant.

   Reno newspaper accounts just after the turn of the 20th century contain several accounts of various criminal enterprises on the island.

   For example, in 1905, under the headline, “Police Rain Opium Joint,” the Gazette noted that “three opium outfits were captured by the police last night in a raid on a cabin” on the island. The story also said that a well-dress stranger “addicted to the Habit” was caught “red-handed” in the cabin. Not surprisingly, he declined to provide his name to the paper.

   A few years later, in 1910, the Gazette reported that the island was the location of a “free for all fight,” which was broken up by police. In 1924, the body of a janitor who lived in a cabin on the island was discovered. The paper said he had been shot twice and then beaten to death.

   By the 1920s, Scott Island had become a frequent target of Prohibition agents, who periodically raided the cabins to confiscate “moonshine” and other illegal alcoholic beverages.

   Throughout the years, the island was regularly flooded, which washed away most of the crude encampments. However, it was never too long before new ones cropped up.

   One of the saddest stories appeared in the Winnemucca Silver State newspaper on December 16, 1905. Beneath the headline, “Wife and Four Children Deserted and Destitute,” the paper noted that a Reno painter named Charles Carey had deserted his pregnant wife and four children, who lived in a cabin on the island, while he was out on strike from his employer.

   “To provide fuel for the little home, the woman, who is in a delicate condition, has been gathering up [gambling] chips from the street,” the paper reported. “Less than a dollar was the funds she had since her husband disappeared.”

   Fortunately for the woman and her children, her husband’s former employer decided to take care of the family, the story concluded.

   In June 1959, a fire broke out on the island, destroying most of the structures on what had become known as the “Reno Jungle.” By the early 1960s, the island was still the site of some bizarre newspaper accounts, including one, in 1963, about Reno police investigating a complaint that 20 cats had been shot and eaten.

   “Investigators said the man alleged to have shot the animals has denied the charge,” the Journal said. “However, according to police, a second man admitted eating them.”

   In the early 1970s, the irrigation ditch was filled in and future of Scott Island became the topic of much discussion among city and county leaders. When the families of those who owned the property offered to sell it to the city, some proposed making it into a city park (something that had been talked about since at least 1910).

   In the late 1970s, the site was sold to Reno Newspapers Inc., publishers of the Reno Evening Gazette and the Nevada State Journal, for a new printing plant and newspaper offices. After construction of a 92,588-square-foot facility in the early 1980s, the former island served as the newspaper company’s home until 2020, when the building was sold to the city of Reno.

   The city converted into the new headquarters of the Reno Police Department, which somehow seemed appropriate given the island’s notorious past.

Remote Belmont Mill Survives Time's Ravages Mostly Intact

  The camp of Belmont Mill is a clear example of the enormous amount of mining activity that occurred in eastern Nevada during the so-called “Rush to White Pine” that began in the late 1860s.

  While the earliest mining booms occurred after 1868 in places in White Pine County like Shermantown, Hamilton, Treasure City and Eberhardt, the establishment of the Belmont Mill camp in 1915 indicated there was still a belief that riches remained to be found.

  While there had been some mining activity prior, in the early 20th century the Tonopah-Belmont Development Company began developing a mine and mill in the area, which is about seven miles southwest of the mining town of Hamilton.

  Records indicate that despite considerable investment—Belmont Mill was set up as a company town that provided housing and other amenities for its workers—its mines proved to be marginal and the camp was abandoned after only about a decade of mining.

  Perhaps because the mining company owned nearly everything at Belmont Mill, much of it remains fairly intact.

  For instance, the main mining mill building is quite impressive, sitting on a hillside overlooking a narrow canyon. The structure is substantial, constructed of thick metal sheets attached to a sturdy wooden frame. It is obvious that the builders intended for this structure to last.

  Peeking inside the main building—be careful not to touch anything or go inside because the wooden floors don't appear too safe—you can still see the milling equipment and a variety of other mining paraphernalia.

  You can also still find large elevated wooden bins filled with rocks on the south side of the mill. Apparently, these carts served as counter-weights to lift the ore containers to the top of the mill, where the precious dirt and rocks were dumped into the mill for processing.

  Also intact is an aerial tramway (which resembles the kind of aerial lift you find at a Lake Tahoe ski resort) that runs through the center of the building and stretches a quarter-mile or so up the hillside to several dig sites. The tram's thick support cable, while rusted after decades of neglect, still looks like it could do its job.

  If you walk alongside the tram, up the hill, you can get a great view of the mill and surrounding area. Nearby are several of the area's once-promising mines, which included such colorfully named shafts as the Dog Star, Jenny A. and Mary Ellen. Again, be cautious about exploring the area because mine shafts are dangerous.

  To the rear of the mill are rusted ore cart rails, which lead to an area where the processed ore was dumped into cargo containers and transported to a refinery.

  Adjacent to the large mill structure are other metal buildings, including the original office, as well as a boarding house and a machine shop, which contains some larger tools and assorted pieces of equipment.

  All of the buildings are posted with signs warning visitors not to touch or remove anything under penalty of law.

  While a business district never developed at Belmont Mill, a handful of decaying wooden structures sit on a hill above the mill, which appear to have been residences. Below the abandoned row of houses, you'll also find several rusted hulks of cars of more recent vintage.

  Belmont Mill is located about seven miles southwest of the ghost town of Hamilton. To reach it, head 37 miles west of Ely on Highway 50, then turn south on the marked road to Hamilton. Drive 10 miles on a maintained dirt road, then follow the signs (adjacent to the Hamilton Cemetery) to Belmont Mill. There will be a fork in the road about two miles from Hamilton, turn left to reach the site.

  Despite its relatively short life, Belmont Mill remains a good example of an early 20th century Nevada mining camp.

  For more information, a good website to check out is Forgotten Nevada (https://forgottennevada.org/sites/belmontmill.html).

Nevada Communities Have Long Found A Good Slogan Can Be Useful

   Many Nevada cities and towns have found promotional gold in adopting a colorful slogan to help promote themselves. Undoubtedly the most famous is Reno's "Biggest Little City in the World" slogan, which has appeared on several different archways spanning Virginia Street since 1929.

   The art of civic sloganeering, in fact, has proven to be a winning strategy for many communities, even to present times.

   For example, during the past two decades one of the most successful slogans has been the city of Las Vegas’ “What Happens Here, Stays Here” slogan. Created by the R and R Partners advertising agency in Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the slogan became part of the national zeitgeist, appearing in films, on television shows, and in countless social media posts.

   Today, a variation of the slogan, “What Happens Here, Only Happens Here,” continues to be used in the city’s promotional campaigns.

   Over the years, Las Vegas has utilized a number of slogans. In the late 1930s, the community’s promotional slogan was “Las Vegas, City of Destiny,” meant to show it was a city on the move, and in the late 1940s, it embraced the phrase, “Still A Frontier Town,” to reinforce its modern yet still old west image, which was reflected in several of its resorts such as the New Frontier and the El Rancho.

   The city of Henderson, which is Nevada’s second largest city, also has its own slogan. In an effort to say that it has all the amenities of a big city but with smaller-town values, Henderson uses the slogan, “Henderson—A Place to Call Home.”

   Of course, Nevada’s smaller communities also have hung their promotional hats on their own slogans, some of which have been used for years, such as:

   • “Fallon: The Oasis of Nevada.” This phrase spotlights the fact that Fallon is an agricultural community, home of the Hearts of Gold cantaloupes, fields of alfalfa, and other crops.

   • “Tonopah: Queen of the Silver Camps.” No surprise here because Tonopah was founded in 1900 following the discovery of rich silver deposits in the area.

   • “Eureka: The Friendliest Town on the Loneliest Road.” A slogan of more recent vintage, this phrase was adopted by Eureka because of its location on U.S. 50, which is known as “The Loneliest Road in America.” The slogan is a nod toward that designation while also telling travelers that they will find a welcoming, friendly place during their journey across the state.

   • “Beatty: Gateway to Death Valley.” This slogan is pretty straightforward. It essentially says, ‘if you’re going to Death Valley National Park, the best way to get there is through Beatty.’

   • “Virginia City: Step Back in Time.” This is another fairly straightforward slogan. As one of Nevada’s premier historic mining communities, with a largely intact frontier business district, cemeteries, churches and other sites, Virginia City remains an opportunity to experience the past in the present.

   • "Cattle Kingdom in the Copper Hills" - This descriptive phrase has long been my favorite town slogan. It was used to promote Yerington for many decades, and said everything you needed to know about the community, namely that it was a cattle-raising area that also had a thriving copper mining industry. A classic billboard, which carried the slogan, stood at the entrance to the town from the 1960s to the early 1990s, when it was, sadly, destroyed in a rainstorm and not replaced.