Ormsby County was a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in Nevada Territory from 1861 to 1864 and in the State of Nevada from 1864 until 1969. It contained

Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

, and later, the state capital, founded two years earlier.

Name

It was named after Major

William Ormsby William Matthew Ormsby (1814 – May 12, 1860) was an early settler of Nevada who was instrumental in the establishment of Carson City and the Nevada Territory. Major Ormsby was killed leading a Militia force against Paiute Indians in what was ...

, one of the original settlers of Carson City, killed along with seventy-five other men in 1860, in an unsuccessful attempt to subdue a perceived uprising of Paiute people near Pyramid Lake, Nevada, which was at the time part of Utah Territory.

History

Ormsby County was established in 1861 with creation of Nevada Territory. The county's population dwindled significantly after the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

days. By the late 1940s, it was little more than

and a few surrounding hamlets to the west. Discussions began about merging Carson City with Ormsby County. However, the effort never got beyond the planning stages until 1966, when a statewide referendum formally approved the merger. The required constitutional amendment was passed in 1968. On April 1, 1969, Ormsby County and Carson City officially merged as the Consolidated Municipality of Carson City.

References

{{coord, 39, 09, 53, N, 119, 46, 35, W, scale:250000_source:GNS, display=title 1861 establishments in Nevada Territory 1969 disestablishments in Nevada Former counties of Nevada History of Carson City, Nevada Populated places disestablished in 1969 Populated places established in 1861

Name

History

See also

References