nevada, our homejournoportfolio.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/users/...157 8chapter 1915 1930...

156

nstead of trying to makepeople to fit into a certainmold, we should encouragethem to furnish their ownmold.”

—Maude Frazier

1900�

�

1905�

�

1910�

�Timeline of Events

THE TIME1900–1935

1900• Jim Butler finds silver at Tonopah.• Copper is discovered near Ely.

1902Gold is discoveredin Goldfield.

1903Newlands irrigation

project begins.

1911Nevada begins

building public roadsand highways.

I“

157

8Chapter

1915�

�

1930�

�

As the 20th century began,Nevada was becoming a busyplace. New mining and rail-road towns were springing up.Roads and other forms oftransportation were alsoimproving. Education andvoting rights for women werebecoming important issues.

1914–1918World War I

The U.S. entersthe war in 1917.

1918Anne Martinruns for theU.S. Senate.

1920The 19th Amendment giveswomen in the United Statesthe right to vote.

1931• Gambling becomes legal.• Six-week divorces are

granted in Nevada.

1935President Rooseveltdedicates Boulder

(Hoover) Dam.

1914Nevada legislature giveswomen the right to votein state elections.

People lined Tonopah’s MainStreet for this 1907 parade.

1935�

�

1920�

�

1929The GreatDepressionbegins.

1925�

�

158 Nevada, Our Home

PEOPLE TO KNOW

Jim ButlerAlice “Happy Days” DiminyLillian MalcolmGeorge Wingfield

PLACES TO LOCATE

BullfrogElyGoldfieldMcGillRenoRuthTonopahWinnemucca

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

centurygrubstakerlease

L E S S O N1

A is a period of100 years. Do you knowwhat century you wereborn in? What century doyou live in now?

century

Mining Moves SouthBy the turn of the many Nevada mines had closed.

Still, a few prospectors searched the deserts looking for riches. Oneman, named Jim Butler, discovered an area of rich silver ore insouthwestern Nevada. A new mining camp soon developed aroundhis find. It was called Tonopah.

Butler made a great deal of money without having to do muchof the work. He decided to or rent, part of his land to otherpeople. The people he leased to had to agree to give him part ofwhatever they found. They sealed their deal with nothing but ahandshake. Luckily for Butler, the men he leased to kept theirword.

century,

lease,

Jim Butler was a farmer and rancher before he discovered alarge vein of ore that came near the surface of the ground.

Entering a New Century 159

A Challenging LifeBullfrog, Goldfield, and Rawhide were some of the other mining

districts that brought new prospectors to central and southernNevada. Many prospectors were by others.Grubstakers paid for the supplies of miners in return for a shareof their profits. Some of these prospectors made rich strikes insouthern Nevada.

Living conditions in these small mining towns, however, werenot very good. Most miners and their families lived in houses thatwere slapped together quickly. One woman described life inTonopah this way:

The problems of housekeeping on the desert were very real.During the bitter cold winters the wind moaned and whistled throughthe cracks in the board-and-batten houses. In the terrific summer heat,you had to cook over a wood stove with one eye always watchful forinsects....Have you ever turned suddenly to look at your baby on thefloor and found a scorpion on his arm? Have you ever found abedbug on your pillow and faced the task of getting rid of the pest?The women used to say that it was no disgrace to get bedbugs, butit was certainly a disgrace to keep them.

Female ProspectorsAlthough mining in Nevada attracted mostly men, a few daring

women were there too. Lillian Malcom came to the Bullfrogmining district fresh from her adventures in Alaska. She thrilledminers with stories of dog sleds and jumping across floating sheetsof ice. Sometimes she wore a skirt with boots and sometime shewore men’s pants. After leaving Bullfrog, she was off to tryprospecting in Death Valley.

Other women tried their luck as miners in Goldfield.Alice “Happy Days” Diminy was one of them.She worked her claim alone with only twoburros for company. Her husband was inAlaska searching for gold. Diminy livedin a little stone house she built by herself.She lived in Nevada for many years andplanted a garden every spring.

grubstaked

Tonapah

Bullfrog

Goldfield

Rawhide

Life in Nevada’s early mining towns wasespecially difficult for women and children.

Alice “Happy Days” Diminypacked everything she needed onher two burros.


evadaPortrait

George Wingfield1876-1959

George Wingfield spent his earlydays as a cowboy, working for ranchesin California, Oregon, and Nevada. Hewas also a gambler and owned a saloonfor a while. Like so many others, hefollowed the rush to Tonopah whengold was discovered there.

Later, when gold was found in aplace called Goldfield, Wingfield joinedwith a man named George Nixon.They bought many mines and banks inGoldfield. They also owned andoperated a large mill that processed theore. As time went on, the two wereowners of entire city blocks. Wingfieldhad become a multi-millionaire by theage of 30. He became a powerful manin Nevada.

After the boom in Goldfield wasover, Wingfield started a ranch anddairy farm in Fallon. He built acreamery and gave the city of Reno apiece of land for a park.

Wingfield also became involved inNevada politics. He supported effortsto legalize gambling and quick divorcein the state. But he didn’t think womenshould be allowed to vote.

In the end, Wingfield had bigfinancial problems. He was no longerthe powerful or popular man he hadonce been. He lived out the rest of hislife in Reno.

This 1906 photograph shows Oscar“Battling” Nelson arriving in Goldfieldjust before the big fight.

Queen of the Mining CampsIt didn’t take long for the small tent town of Goldfield to become

Nevada’s largest city. Once the word got out that rich gold depositshad been found there, thousands of people rushed to the area.

A millionaire named George Nixon sent his young partner,George Wingfield, to Goldfield to help him make even more money.Nixon and Wingfield bought the claims of many miners. Soon theywere in control of most of the mines in Goldfield.

All the wealth coming out of the mines brought other miningcompanies to the area too. A beautiful, four-story hotel was built inGoldfield. Banks, saloons, newspapers, libraries, theatres, andchurches lined the streets. The people of Goldfield also enjoyedbaseball games, circus performances, and even major sporting events.

One Labor Day event brought lightweight championship boxingto Goldfield. Oscar “Battling” Nelson and Joe Gans fought for the$30,000 prize money. More than 8,000 people came to see the fight.Joe Gans was the winner.

As Goldfield grew, big labor unions were formed by the miners.Members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) weresometimes called “Wobblies”. There were many problems betweenmine owners and labor unions. After a strike broke out, GovernorSparks sent the state police to Goldfield to keep the peace.

After 10 years, Goldfield’s boom began to die. Then a firedestroyed most of the town’s buildings.

Autos in the BoomtownsTonopah and Goldfield were

the first Nevada boomtownsto use automobiles. They alsowere some of the first townsin our state to have speedlimits for cars. In Tonopahthe speed limit was 4 milesper hour. In Goldfield it was6 miles per hour. The newlaws also made it clear that“vehicles drawn by horse”always had the right of way.

161Entering a New Century

A Need for Roads and HighwaysAs Nevada’s silver, gold, and copper booms came and went, so

did its population of people. By the early 1900’s many of thosewho came to Nevada came by automobile. They had to driveacross the deserts because very few roads linked the newmining towns with larger cities. Some people thought trips like thiswere exciting. Others had a difficult and often dangerous journey.

Driving in the DesertAs travel by automobile became more popular, travel companies

tried to get people to go on automobile adventures through thedesert. They took out ads in the newspapers. One ad read like this:

Go automobiling in Death Valley with Alkali Bill…. Alkali Billhimself meets every train and whizzes you over the desert 45 milesby way of Death Valley and the famous Amargosa Canyon...

Soon, our government realized that better roads were needed.However, they didn’t have much money to spend. There was nomoney to pay workers, so the government ask for volunteers to helpbuild our roads. They also looked for new ways to earn money forroad building. One way they raised money was by making a lawthat people needed to have drivers licenses. With the money madefrom these licenses, Nevada was able to beginbuilding roads.

How do you think transportationhas changed since the automobilewas invented?

How would your life be differenttoday if there were few roads foryou to travel on?

Early automobiles had a hardtime making their way throughthe sandy deserts of Nevada.


Copper in NevadaJust west of Ely, two prospectors searching for gold found a strip

of red metal just barely under the ground. The red metal turned outto be a large copper deposit. Soon, a new mining rush in Nevadahad begun.

A little while later, the Nevada Consolidated Copper Companywas formed. The company built a mill and smelter to separate thecopper from the ore. A new railroad line took the ore from themines to the smelter. As more people took jobs in the area, newtowns like McGill and Ruth popped up.

The owners of Nevada Consolidated Copper also organizedcompany towns for their workers. These towns were much nicerthan most mining towns. The company towns were plannedcommunities with many services, like reading rooms, a firedepartment, and a hospital. Company towns were more orderlythan most Nevada mining towns and not as violent.

The copper coming out of mines in the area was used to makewires that carry electricity. Big open copper pits gave jobs to manypeople. Copper actually made more money for our state and itsminers than all the silver from the Comstock Lode.

Not far from Ely, miners in Ruthdug large copper deposits out ofbig, open pits. Each pit was dugone level at a time.

1L E S S O N Me m o r y Ma s t e r1 . Who was Jim Butler? What is he famous for?2 . What is a grubstaker?3 . Which big labor union members were

some times called “Wobblies”?4 . How did Nevada’s government make money

to help pay for building roads?5 . What was a company town?


L E S S O N2

PEOPLE TO KNOW

Edna C. BakerClara CrowellAnn MartinFrancis NewlandsPresident Theodore Roosevelt

PLACES TO LOCATE

Carson RiverLahontan DamRhyoliteRye Patch DamTruckee River

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

Allied forcespermanentrationsuffrage

Bringing Water to the DesertFar away from Nevada, in Washington, D.C., President

Theodore Roosevelt talked about supporting new projects in theWest. Nevada’s Senator Francis Newlands hoped to getor U.S. government, money for water projects. He knew one ofour state’s most important needs was to bring water to thedesert. He wanted people to be able to farm the western andcentral deserts of Nevada.

The first part of Newlands’s project was to dig canals andditches and to connect the Truckee River with the Carson River.The new U.S. reclamation service wanted to irrigate more than400,000 acres of land. A booklet was printed to attract settlersto the area. Settlers were promised cheap land and water.

Hundreds of settlers came, but there were still many problemsto overcome. During dry years, farmers couldn’t get enoughwater to their crops. Many frustrated settlers gave up and lefttheir farms. Others decided to stay and keep trying. In time,other water sources were developed. Finally, farmers were ableto grow successful crops in the desert.

federal,

Many ditches and canals weredug to flood Nevada’s desertswith much-needed water.


Storing the WaterDigging ditches to carry water into the desert was only one part

of Newlands’s plan. Another important part of the plan was tobuild or lasting ways to collect and store water.Federal money was used to build the Lahontan Dam and reservoiron the Carson River.

Reservoirs are places where large supplies of water are stored.After the reservoir was built, the town of Fallon attracted manyfarming families and businesses. Newland’s project was one of thefirst federal water projects in the western United States. It helpedNevada become one of the nation’s leading growers of alfalfa.

permanent,

Rye Patch Dam along theHumboldt River was anotherearly project built by the federalgovernment in our state. Today,the dam stores water for theLovelock Valley. The HumboldtRiver has always been animportant water source forpeople traveling across ourstate. Building a reservoir alongthe river has made it possiblefor farms and towns to be builtnearby.

A c t i v i t yResearch an Event in the 20th CenturyLook at the timeline at the beginning of this chapter. It

shows important events that happened during the 20thcentury in both the United States and Nevada. Readthrough the events and see which ones you already knowabout. Choose one event you want to know more about.What would you like to learn? Write down threequestions. Then try to find the answers in books, on theInternet, or by asking family members or people in yourcommunity. Once you finish your research, you canpresent what you’ve learned in one of many ways. Youcan write an essay or song, make a poster, perform a skit,or give a speech to your class.

This photograph shows the LahontanDam just before it was completed in1914. It was built so farmers couldhave enough water to get through thehot Nevada summers.


Nevada Votes for WomenWomen’s or the right to vote, was one of our country’s

biggest issues in the early part of the 19th century. Many timesefforts to give women the vote in Nevada failed. Finally, malevoters gave Nevada women the right to vote in state elections.

It took six more years before all women in the United Statescould vote in national elections. Right away, women began runningfor important government offices. Anne Martin was one of them.She ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate twice. Even though she neverwon the senate seat, her work in support of women’s suffrage wasvery successful. She became president of Nevada’s suffrage groupand worked with other women across the world.

Edna C. Baker was the first woman in Nevada to be elected to astate office. She was elected to be a member of the University ofNevada’s Board of Regents. She also supported Nevada’s suffragemovement.

suffrage,

Lady SheriffWhen George Crowell, the Lander County

sheriff died, his wife Clara was selected toreplace him. Clara had already proved shewas well suited for the job. One night,she ran a stranger off her property whenhe came to her door demanding money.After becoming sheriff, Clara chased

horse thieves, bank robbers, and cattlerustlers. She broke up brawls, rancriminals out of the mountains, anddemanded people respect the law.

When Clara’s term was up, she went to work for the countyhospital. She was the matron there for the next 20 years.

evadaPortrait

Anne Martin1875-1951

Anne Martin was a very importantleader in the fight for women’s rights.She was born in Empire, near CarsonCity. She attended a school for girlsin Reno and later graduated from theUniversity of Nevada. Her father hadbeen a state senator.

Martin was in her 30’s when shebecame involved in the women’ssuffrage movement. She even becamepresident of Nevada’s Equal FranchiseSociety. She drove all over the state,meeting with women and men whosupported the cause.

Many people in Nevada’s smallmining towns supported the move-ment. However, people in places likeReno and Carson City did not.

Eventually, the votes of miners,ranchers, and railroad workers wereenough to give women in Nevada thevote.Martin also fought for women’s

suffrage across the nation and inEurope. Once, while she was inEngland, she was arrested forprotesting.


A Nation at WarFar across the Atlantic Ocean in Europe, World War I was

raging. Sometimes it was called the Great War or the War to EndAll Wars. On one side were the countries of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. On the other side were the ofGreat Britain, France, Italy and Russia.

Even before the United States joined the war, many Americanbusinesses sold supplies to the Allied countries. Most Americansdid not want to get involved in the war. However, the pressure forthe United States to step in and help the Allied troops increased.Soon men all over the country, between the ages of 21 and 30, hadto sign up for military service.

Allied forces

A Loyalty Day paradewas held in Renoto show the city’ssupport for the wareffort.

When WWI broke out, itwas the headline inalmost every newspaper.

The island of Great Britainincluded the countries ofEngland, Scotland, and Wales.


Everyone else, including women and children, supported the warefforts from home. Women worked as nurses, secretaries anddrivers. Families tried to help by eating less food. That way, morefood could be sent to those fighting overseas. This food-savingeffort was called Americans alsobought war bonds to help pay for the war.

When the war finally ended, the Allied troopshad won. People celebrated, and returning soldiersmarched in parades. Many fathers and brothersfrom Nevada fought in the war. Some of themnever made it home.

Even though the war made life very difficult for awhile, World War I helped our state’s economy.There was an increased need for copper, silver, andlead. Because of this, mines in Nevada were busyand people had jobs.

rationing.

2L E S S O N 1. What natural resource made Las Vegas a good choice for a railroad rest stop?2. Describe the first hotel built in Las Vegas. Who built it?3. Why was the Newlands project so important for Nevada?4. Who was arrested in England for taking part in a women’s suffrage protest?5. What is rationing? How did it help the war effort?

Me m o r y Ma s t e rMe m o r y Ma s t e r

This war poster asked Americans to buywar bonds. It was aimed at immigrants.Why would the government try to getimmigrants to support liberty?

168

Healing the Wounds of WarSoon after World War I ended, new industries created more jobs.

People were able to buy telephones and radios. Families in smalltowns got electricity for the first time. Now they had light with theflip of a switch. They could also keep their food cool in refrigerators.

Many families bought their first car during the 1920s. Owning acar gave people the freedom to go wherever they wanted. Buying acar cost about $290. Airplanes were another new invention thatwould bring many changes over the years.

Another thing that changed was how women dressed. Theybegan wearing their skirts and hairstyles much shorter than before.Women that dressed in these new styles were called flappers. Thisperiod was a lively time that became known as the Roaring Twenties.

PEOPLE TO KNOW

President Franklin RooseveltPresident Herbert HooverYonema “Bill” Tomiyasu

PLACES TO LOCATEArizonaBoulder CityColorado RiverHoover DamLake Mead

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

barrackscurfewdepressionlegal

L E S S O N3

Compare the waythe women in thisphotograph dressedwith the women inthe photograph atthe beginning of thechapter. How havestyles and fashionschanged since the1920s?

Can you guess what this funny-looking machine does? If youguessed that it played music, youguessed right! It was called awind-up phonograph. How hasmodern technology changed theway we listen to music today?

169

The Great DepressionAs the end of the Roaring Twenties drew near, Nevada

and the rest of the United States fell into aA depression is a time when there isn’t enoughwork for the people. When people can’twork, they can’t buy food or clothingfor their families. Many familieswere starving. Some even losttheir homes.

It was a very hard time forour country. Hundreds ofbusinesses closed. Banksclosed, and many people losttheir life savings. Workers allacross the country lost theirjobs. This was the worstdepression the United States hadever known. It was called the GreatDepression.

depression.

Entering a New Century

Let Me Entertain YouListening to nightly radio

programs was somethingfamilies came together toenjoy. They loved listening tocomedy acts and detectivestories. They listened to thenew sounds of jazz music.Another thing many peopleenjoyed was going to themovies. The first films werecalled silent movies becausethey didn’t have sound.Sometimes theater owners hireda piano player to play music forthe movie. Later, when soundwas added, people called themtalkies.

Factoriesdo not get

orders.

Depression CycleFactories lay off workers.

Stores go outof business.

Stores donot order

fromfactories.

Peoplelosetheirjobs.

Peoplecannot

buythings.

��

� �

� �

Thousands ofmen lost theirjobs during theGreat Depression.


Hanging On to HopePeople tried to help each other as much as they could during

the depression. Soup kitchens were opened to serve meals to hun-gry people. Local police and firemen collected food and gave it tofamilies who had no money. The Salvation Army, Red Cross, andmany churches helped too. People began wondering if thedepression would ever end. Many people thought our governmentshould do more to help.

People in Nevada were better off than people in other parts ofthe country. A new project was about to help our state. The U.S.Congress approved the plans to build Hoover (Boulder) Dam. Theproject soon brought thousands of jobs and people to the state.

During the depression,many people lost theirjobs. The only waythey could eat was togo to a soup kitchen.

This federal employment office inLas Vegas became a busy placeafter the government decided tobuild Hoover Dam in Nevada.


Taming a RiverWhen the Colorado River flooded the farmlands of southern

California, a huge lake formed where many farms used to be.People frustrated by the problem needed help. The Southern PacificRailroad stepped in to help get the river back on course. Peoplewanted to prevent a flood like this from happening again.

Proposals to dam the mighty Colorado River began a few yearsafter the flood. However, plans to build it didn’t come together foralmost 20 years.

There were many good reasons besides flood control to damAmerica’s wildest river. The dam would also help slow the flowof the river, making it easier for boats to travel along it. But thebiggest reason to build the dam was the millions of gallons of waterthat could be used to generate electricity for farms and homes inthe area.

Workers Pour into NevadaOnce the construction of the dam was approved by President

Coolidge, it took four years to build. Thousands of people whocould not find work near their homes came to Nevada.

The first workers who came lived in nothing more than camps inthe desert. McKeeversville and Ragtown were two of these earlycamps. The camps had rustic-looking tents, shacks, and houses.

Summer heat in the desert was over 100 degrees, and there wasno air conditioning. Men, women, and children lived in very roughconditions. Later, the camps were replaced when the governmentbuilt a new city.

Why do you think one of thecamps was called Ragtown? Doesthis photograph give you a clue?

Booklets, like this one, were designedto attract tourists to the site.


Boulder CityThe new city built for Hoover Dam workers was called Boulder

City. It was a lot like living in the company towns that were builtby Nevada mining companies. Single men lived in long buildingscalled Families were given small wooden houses to livein. Rose Lawson talked about the first houses that were built inBoulder City:

We didn’t have any plumbing; we didn’t have any water. We didhave electricity—one outlet in each room and a light hanging from theceiling. … The house was built exactly like a shoebox: two rooms witha little porch…. Every house was exactly alike…. Men coming homefrom work—if they weren’t thinking, they’d come into the wrong house.

Workers living in the city bought their goods at a company storeand ate at a company mess hall. Later, there was even a publicschool. When workers returned too late from a weekend in LasVegas, they often found the gates to the city closed. The city’s

meant workers would sometimes have to sleep in their cars.A curfew is a set time for people to be off the streets. Workers wereexpected to be well rested and ready for work each morning.

barracks.

curfew

evadaPortrait

Yonema (Bill) Tomiyasu was one ofthe best early farmers in all of Nevada.He grew acres and acres of fruits andvegetables. He supplied arearestaurants with fresh tomatoes,melons, peppers, lettuce, asparagus,onions, carrots, and more. He alsosupplied food to the workers eating inthe Boulder City mess halls.

Tomiyasu was born near Nagasaki,Japan. His father was a sugar canefarmer and the family was very poor.

When Tomiyasu was about 16, heleft Japan and came to the UnitedStates. Later, he moved to Nevadabecause it was against the law forJapanese people to own land inCalifornia.

He bought 40 acres in Las Vegasand began to find the best way to growfruits and vegetables in the hot, dustyclimate.

He and his family spent all theirtime working in the fields. Evenduring World War II, when mostJapanese Americans were sent toprison camps, the Tomiyasus just keptgrowing crops. They supplied food forthe gunnery school in Las Vegas, wherepilots were trained.

Tomiyasu later lost the farmbecause of a bad business deal. Today,there is a street in Las Vegas and anelementary school named in honor ofYonema “Bill” Tomiyasu.

Bill Tomiyasu1882-1969

Men working on HooverDam were fed in thisdining hall that was partwood and part tent.

Entering a New Century

Hard LaborMore than 13,000 men worked to build

the Hoover Dam. Some carried water, andsome climbed the cliffs high above the river.Men working in the tunnels had to deal withunbearable heat. Much of the work wasvery dangerous, and things didn’t alwaysgo well.

Many men were hurt and over 100 mendied. No one had ever built a dam this bigbefore. Building a cement wall between twosteep canyon walls was an engineering mar-vel. Tons of steel and concrete were used tomake the dam.

Today, the wall of the dam stands 726feet high and 1,244 feet across. The high-way that runs across the top of the damconnects Arizona with Nevada.

When the dam was almost finished,President Franklin Roosevelt came toNevada to dedicate it. One of the workerssaid this about the president’s visit:

Everybody was excited…. That was quiteimpressive, hearing him dedicate that dam. Afterthat we went right back to work, moving thatpipe again.

—Dean Pulsipher

Finished at LastSix months after the dam was dedicated,

it was finally complete. Today, the dambrings thousands of visitors to Nevada eachyear. Inside the dam, large generators pullwater from the Colorado River to produceelectricity. The electricity is sent to homesand businesses in Nevada, California, andArizona. Behind the dam are the waters ofLake Mead. People go there to boat, fish,and swim.

173

Working as a high scaler on thewalls of the canyon was adangerous job.


Boulder or Hoover Dam?Sometimes people get confused about whether to call it Boulder

or Hoover Dam. Actually, the name has changed so many timesthat it’s a little hard to know. At first, the planners wanted toname the dam after Boulder Canyon, where the dam would bebuilt. Later, when the dam was moved to a different canyon, theynamed it Hoover Dam, after President Herbert Hoover.Then, when Franklin Roosevelt became president, the name of

the dam was changed back to Boulder Dam. But that was not theend of the name battle. The name was changed back to HooverDam one more time, and so it remains today.

The waters of the Colorado Riverback up behind Hoover Dam toform Lake Mead.


Nevada’s New EconomyFamilies weren’t the only ones having trouble as a

result of the depression. The state was running out ofmoney for its much-needed public projects. Buildingdams and reservoirs was very important, but improvingand building state highways was important too. Therejust wasn’t enough money to pay for everything Nevadaneeded. Soon, the state had to begin looking for newtax sources. One answer was to make gamblingand then tax it. To make something legal means it’s nolonger against the law.

Gambling had always been a part of frontier life.Different groups tried outlawing it now and then, butpeople usually found ways to get around the new laws.Somewhere in Nevada, people were always betting oncards, dice, horses, or sporting events.

Building a Tourism StateNevada became the first state in the nation to make

gambling legal. In the beginning, though, it didn’t seemto help the state’s economy much. But soon peoplefrom California began coming to Nevada for a weekendof fun. All the money they spent on gambling wasmoney the casinos had to pay in taxes. Gambling taxessoon began to help our state pay for things like schools,highways, health care, and other public services.

Another law Nevada passed that brought many people toour state was its new divorce law. People could get easydivorces after living here for only six weeks. Once our statestarted offering quick weddings, Nevada became the weddingand divorce capital of the United States.

legal

3L E S S O N 1 . Name two new things that families enjoyed following World War I.2 . Name two things that happened to families because of the depression.3 . What river was dammed to build the Hoover Dam?4 . Where did the people who worked on the dam live before Boulder City was built?5 . Which two new laws helped build Nevada’s tourism industry?

Me m o r y Ma s t e r

The Apache Casino was one ofthe many downtown Las Vegascasinos that used an Old Westtheme to attract tourists.


REVIEWCHAPTER 8Consider Character

Te c h n o l o g y T i e - I n

A c t i v i t y

HonestyAt the beginning of this chapter, you read about a man named Jim Butler.

He leased land to prospectors who promised to give him part of the gold orsilver they found. Because they kept their word, these prospectors showed thetrait of honesty. How important is it to be honest today? Do you keep yourpromises? For one week, try keeping an honesty journal. Write down when youchoose to be honest and when you don’t. Did you notice when others werehonest or not honest? Did you find it hard to be honest? Why?

Be an Inventor!Reread the section on mining towns, especially the report by the woman in Tonopah (Lesson

One). What technology could you develop to keep insects out of the house? Remember youonly have the materials available to mining towns in the early 1900s. Draw a picture, or write adescription of what you would invent to keep pests out. Be creative, like the settlers who cooledtheir tents at night by hanging wet sheets in front of the windows!

Taking the heat out of desert life in early Las Vegas was very difficult because of high summertemperatures. Sometimes it reached 105 degrees or more, just as it does today. Many of theearly settlers lived in tents that got very hot. In those days, tents had a “fly cover”, or section ofcloth above the tent, that helped protect the tent from the heat of the sun.

Hoover Dam workers living in early tent towns cooled their tents at night in creative ways.They hung wet sheets in front of the doors and windows. A breeze blowing through the wet sheethelped to cool the tents. Later, when homes were built in the area, similar cooling systems werecreated to cool them. They were called evaporative coolers. Some homes still use them today.But for very hot climates like those in southern Nevada, most people cool their homes with airconditioning. Without it, Las Vegas may not have become the major city that it is today.


1 . Which railroad owned themost track?

2. Which railroad had the shortestroute?

3. Why were so many railroadsbuilt during this time?

4. Which railroads had the samenames as the routes theytraveled?

5. Which railroad traveled throughSodaville?

6. Are any of these railroads stillused in Nevada today? If so,which ones?

G e o g r a p h y T i e - I n

Expanding RailroadsRailroads helped our state’s

economy. They provided a faster,easier way for people to shipthings to places around the state.Study this map of railroads inNevada. Answer the followingquestions:

RenoLovelock

Wadsworth

Virginia City

CarsonCity

Winnemucca

Austin

Hawthorne

Sodaville

CandelariaPioche

Bullionville

Wells

Palisade

Eureka

ElkoBattleMountain

Central Pacific RRVirginia and Truckee RR

Nevada Central RREureka and Palisade RRCarson and Colorado RRPioche and Bullionville RR

Legend

Nevada Railroads in the Early 1900s

nevada, our homejournoportfolio.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/users/...157 8chapter 1915 1930...

Documents