Nevada Day!

Yes, it's Halloween, but it's also Nevada Day - and I'm Battle Born and Raised, as we say.

We are one of few states that made a legal holiday of our statehood - the "bank holiday" was last Friday.  We went to a brewery launch for Battle Born Brew.

On this day in 1864, Nevada became the 36th state in the Union - it was done in part to secure reelection for Lincoln, and so the process was rushed and allowed even though we didn't have enough residents at the time.  Our constitution was drafted and sent via telegraph (rather than Pony Express) to ensure quickness.

In the end, Lincoln's win didn't even need Nevada.

Mining not only helped establish the borders of the state, but fueled the economy and population growth.

The theme of Nevada Day this year is our counties - Pershing became our 17th county in 1919, so they're celebrating 100 years.  Washoe was one of the original counties established in 1861, and Reno itself was official by 1868.

Nevada is the 7th most extensive state, and 9th least densely populated.  Washoe and Clark Counties pretty much carry the state during elections, as Reno (/Sparks) and Las Vegas (/Henderson) are the largest cities.  Black Rock City, though only in existence for a week during Burning Man, becomes the 6th largest city in the state (or 3rd if we group the above four cities, and include North Las Vegas).

The sagebrush, the open space, old mining ghost towns....this is Nevada. ❤️