There's a lot of great history in Nevada, and because some of the state's historical events are better known than others, there may be some you aren't quite familiar with. Listed below are 10 interesting historical facts that you may or may not already know about the Silver State.
1. Nevada was named after the mountain range "Sierra Nevada," and despite the name meaning "snow-covered," Nevada is the driest state in the U.S.
2. The Comstock Lode, America's largest silver deposit, was founded in Nevada in 1859.
3. Rumor has it that Area 51 housed the development of the first Stealth Bomber, in addition to alien and UFO research facilities.
4. The largest public works project to ever take place in the U.S. is the Hoover Dam. It actually has greater structural volume than Eqypt's largest pyramid.
5. Nevada was the first state to ratify the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution. This amendment prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on their race, color or previous condition of servitude.
6. Between the years 1951 and 1992, a total of 928 nuclear tests were conducted at the Nevada Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
7. Ever since the lower 48 states first voted in the election of 1912, the state of Nevada has voted for the winning presidential candidate 96% of the time.
8. Construction hard hats were invented in 1933 specifically for the Hoover Dam workers.
9. Many people believe Nevada was illegally admitted to the Union as a state to help Lincoln's re-election because at the time, there were only 35,000 inhabitants in Nevada. To become a state, there had to be a minimum of 60,000 inhabitants.
10. Mormon Station, Nevada's first permanent white settlement, was founded in 1815. This area is now Genoa.
Which of these historical facts surprised you? What are some other interesting historical facts about Nevada? Let us know in the comments below!
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