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Genoa, Nevada

Coordinates: 39°00′16″N 119°50′50″W / 39.00444°N 119.84722°W / 39.00444; -119.84722
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Genoa, Nevada
Unincorporated town
Genoa, Nevada is located in Nevada
Genoa, Nevada
Genoa, Nevada
Coordinates: 39°00′16″N 119°50′50″W / 39.00444°N 119.84722°W / 39.00444; -119.84722
CountryUnited States
StateNevada
CountyDouglas
Area
[1]
 • Total9.19 sq mi (23.79 km2)
 • Land9.19 sq mi (23.79 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
[2]
4,807 ft (1,465 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total1,343
 • Density146.18/sq mi (56.44/km2)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
89411[3]
Area code775
GNIS feature ID859807[2]

Genoa (/dʒəˈnoʊ.ə/ jə-NOH-ə)[4] is an unincorporated town in Douglas County, Nevada, United States.[5] Founded in 1851,[6] it was the first settlement in what became the Nevada Territory (1861-1864). It is situated within Carson River Valley and is approximately 42 miles (68 km) south of Reno.[7] The population was 939 at the 2010 census.[8] It is home to the oldest bar in the state of Nevada which opened in 1853.[9]

History

[edit]
Simpson expedition, Genoa, Nevada, 1859

Genoa was first settled by Mormon pioneers in what was then the Mexican territory of Alta California. The settlement originated as a trading post called Mormon Station, which served as a respite for travelers on the Carson Route of the California Trail. In June 1850, following the Mexican Cession of 1849, of territories in the modern Southwestern United States, after the Mexican-American War (1846-1848. H.S. Beatie and fellow Mormons built a roofless log enclosure and corral as a trading post near a small stream. Migrants could obtain clothing, tobacco, meat, canned goods, coffee, beans, sugar, flour and bacon. The post was abandoned later that year. By 1851, John Reese arrived in the area with horses, cattle and a dozen wagons loaded with supplies to establish a permanent trading post. By another year later in 1852, migrant traffic through the area was heavy and the settlement expanded. A post office opened, a blacksmith shop was built, and sawmills were built.[10] In 1856, Orson Hyde changed the name of the community to Genoa, after the historic major city i Italian city.[11] The originals in the Mormon settlers withdrew in 1857 when they were recalled by Mormon patriarch and head of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) and first territorial Governor of the Utah Territory (1850-1896), Brigham Young (1801-1877) in the territorial capital of Salt Lake City, due to the Utah War (1857-1858). The village of Genoa served temporarily as the first capital city of the new federal Nevada Territory when it was organized on authority of the United States Congress and President of the United States in 1861, until it was moved later that first year to Carson City.[12]

Nevada's first permanent building, Genoa trading post, established 1850

Nevada Territory's first newspaper, the Territorial Enterprise, was founded first in Genoa in 1858, but moved to the boom town of Virginia City two years later in 1860, shortly after the silver strikes of the Comstock Lode the year before and rush of men to the diggings and mine shafts. It was also the site in animal husbandry of the first cattle ranch in Nevada.[13]

Much of Genoa, including the original fort, station, and hotel, was destroyed in a fire in 1910, but a replica of the fort was built in 1947. Every year since 1919, Genoa has held a festival called the Candy Dance, where candy, food, and crafts are sold to support its town government. The Candy Dance is usually held during the final weekend of September. Many pioneers rest in the Genoa graveyard, including Snowshoe Thompson, his wife and his son.[citation needed]

A mile south of Genoa is David Walley's Resort, a famous natural hot springs and spa. It was first built in 1862 and known as Walley's Hot Springs.

On October 1, 1934,the infamous wanted criminal and bank robber Baby Face Nelson (1908-1934, born Lester Joseph Gillis, later a.k.a. George ("Baby Face") Nelson), and members of his criminal gang arrived at Walley's Hot Springs, hiding out for a month before returning east to Chicago, where Nelson was later shot by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), form the Chicago field office and Washington, D.C. headquarters, under famous long-serving director J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972, served 1924-1935 / 1935-1972), in the United States Department of Justice,[14]

Scenes from the 1973 movie Charley Varrick were filmed in Genoa, and the village was the set for the 1990 movie Misery, starring Kathy Bates, when the village doubled in size with buildings added and then removed after the filming. Food writer M. F. K. Fisher wrote a series of cookbook reviews for The New Yorker from her sister's home in Genoa during the 1960s.[citation needed]

Genoa Historic District

[edit]
Genoa Historic District
Genoa Courthouse Museum
Nearest cityMinden, Nevada
Coordinates39°0′N 119°51′W / 39.000°N 119.850°W / 39.000; -119.850
Area129.5 acres (52.4 ha)
Architectural styleLate Victorian
NRHP reference No.75001108[15]
Added to NRHPApril 16, 1975

The Genoa Historic District, seven miles north of Minden, Nevada, is a portion of the community of Genoa which, as a 129.5-acre (52.4 ha) historic district was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Historically known as Mormon Station, the historic area includes Late Victorian architecture; it includes a courthouse and city hall among 29 contributing buildings.[15][16]

Geography

[edit]
Road Marker on the main road in Genoa, Nevada

Genoa is located on the western edge of the Carson Valley, 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Minden, the Douglas County seat. Nevada State Route 206 enters Genoa from the south as Foothill Road, then turns east in the center of town onto Genoa Lane. According to the United States Census Bureau, the census-designated place of Genoa has a total area of 9.2 square miles (23.8 km2), all land.[8]

Climate

[edit]

The area has a Köppen Climate Classification of Csb, which is a dry-summer subtropical climate often referred to as "Mediterranean".[17]

Climate data for Genoa, Nevada
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 37
(3) 		38
(3) 		44
(7) 		49
(9) 		58
(14) 		67
(19) 		76
(24) 		75
(24) 		68
(20) 		57
(14) 		45
(7) 		37
(3) 		54
(12)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 21
(−6) 		21
(−6) 		24
(−4) 		28
(−2) 		34
(1) 		41
(5) 		48
(9) 		47
(8) 		42
(6) 		35
(2) 		26
(−3) 		21
(−6) 		32
(0)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.6
(91) 		3.4
(86) 		2.9
(74) 		1.4
(36) 		1
(25) 		0.7
(18) 		0.2
(5.1) 		0.6
(15) 		0.6
(15) 		1.2
(30) 		1.6
(41) 		3.5
(89) 		20.8
(530)
Source: Weatherbase[18]

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
20201,343—
U.S. Decennial Census[19]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Genoa, Nevada
  3. ^ "Genoa ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  4. ^ Stanley W. Paher (1970). "Ch. 4 Douglas County". Nevada Ghost Towns & Mining Camps. Nevada Publications. p. 55. ISBN 0-913814-04-0.
  5. ^ "Douglas County Code – Section 18.02.010 – Creation". Douglas County District Attorney. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  6. ^ Read, Laura (May–June 2013). "Genoa, Nevada". Via: 18.
  7. ^ Community website
  8. ^ a b "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Genoa CDP, Nevada". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  9. ^ "About the Bar". Genoa Bar and Saloon. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  10. ^ Paher, Stanley W (1970). Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. Howell North. p. 56.
  11. ^ Federal Writers' Project (1941). Origin of Place Names: Nevada (PDF). W.P.A. p. 19.
  12. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-05-21. Retrieved 2009-03-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "Cowboy Festival returns to Genoa". March 2016.
  14. ^ estimation Bryan Burrough (2009). Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34. Penguin. p. 453. ISBN 978-0-14-311586-1. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  15. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  16. ^ Henry H. Haight III (March 22, 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Genoa Historic District". National Park Service. and accompanying eight photos from 1973–74
  17. ^ Climate Summary for Genoa, Nevada
  18. ^ "Weatherbase.com". Weatherbase. 2013. Retrieved on August 21, 2013.
  19. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
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