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Destination Guides
Historical Background
In 1844, John C. Fremont led a mapping expedition with the help of a Paiute chief who escorted the party through the wilderness of the Pyramid Lake region to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Two years later, in 1846, the ill fated Donner Memorial State Park party would rest on the banks of the cool Truckee before trying to cross the rugged mountains on their way to California. However, their disastrous journey did not discourage those who followed during the gold rush.
Soon the Truckee Meadows became the meeting point of the emigrant trail going east to west and the north-south passage. Ruts made by the wheels still remain as testament to the long, hard journey. During this time, entrepreneur Charles Fuller decided he could make money by building a toll bridge across the Truckee to accommodate the travelers going west. In a log shelter close to the crossing, weary travelers and prospectors could rest and compare travel tales. Card games where a favorite way to entertain themselves, usually for money.
In 1861, after having to rebuild the bridge several times because of floods, Fuller sold his business to Myron Lake, whose vision for the future was the start of a thriving community. His dream of connecting east with west by railroad would become reality. In March of 1868, the first train rolled into Lake’s Crossing. Teamed with a gentleman by the name of Charles Crocker, Lake was able to exact a promise from the Central Pacific Railroad to build a depot on his property. Land in the community was divided into lots and auctioned to builders.
With more pioneers deciding to remain in the beautiful, thriving area, and spurred by the newfound wealth from gold and silver, gambling and other vices became the "hot button" issues of the day. In 1908 the Reno Anti-Gambling League was formed and they succeeded in their mission to outlaw gaming. It was not long until laws eased to allow very restricted, "civilized" games. Furtive, high-stakes gambling never stopped even with the ban on wagering. It was not long until the likes of Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd found the hidden gambling clubs to be useful in money laundering. Prostitution and bootleg liquor became big business under the guidance of these criminal masterminds.
With the decline of the gold and silver boom and the start of the Great Depression, a campaign was started by Mayor E. E. Roberts to ease the laws against alcohol, gambling and divorce. He rationalized that previous prohibitions did not work and revenues could be gained from licensing and taxing these establishments. A law legalizing gambling was signed in 1931.
Putting an end to matrimonial woes became big business in Reno during the 1930s. With only a six-week waiting period finally established, thousands of couples received a "quickie" divorce. The rich and famous had found the ideal place to gain their freedom. Elegant hotels and dude ranches sprang from the green meadows to accommodate the influx of those casting off the shackles of marriage. Soon the Truckee River Walk was flowing with diamond rings thrown in by happy divorcees. During World War II, weddings became the business of choice. Judges and clergy worked overtime to wed throngs of couples hoping for wedded bliss. In 1945 alone, more than eighteen thousand couples tied the knot. The first commercial wedding chapel was established in 1956 next to the Washoe County Courthouse. "In and Out" marriages became big business along the Truckee.
Bill Harrah and Harold Smith were among the first to realize the amazing potential in gaming establishments. Reno had the wealthy visitors and they might as well spend their money in the casinos. Starting modestly, the two soon built their individual establishments into the most popular places in town. Slot machines, crap tables and twenty-one games soon relieved many visitors of their money.
To this day, Reno is still growing. Hotels and casinos have been erected outside the "red-line" district of downtown. And downtown is restoring itself in new ways reflecting the diversity of the city. Unfortunately, many of the famous old landmarks have met their fate via wrecking ball and implosion. The Reno Arch still proclaims the town as "The Biggest Little City In The World" and will probably remain forever. The town has become a center for Artown and Lake Tahoe. Special events bring in as many visitors as the casinos. Gaming is here to stay, but Reno has so much more to offer. Respectability has come to the banks of the Truckee.
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Historical Background
