The historic Nevada State Prison in Carson City is one step closer to becoming a Silver State monument now that the license plate factory on that campus is closing.
Opened in 1862, the Nevada State Prison is actually older than the state. It was also home to the territory’s first Legislative offices as well as the first government-sanctioned gas chamber in the country. The rock quarry on its grounds provided material for several buildings that still stand in Carson City.
“That quarry supplied materials for the construction of the Capitol, for the Secretary of States’ office, for the Armory, for the state printing office, churches, and homes.”
In other words, the prison is in the state’s DNA. That’s why conservationists like Glen Whorton, who you just heard, want to save it. But preservation has been frozen for a few years.
The prison was decommissioned in 2012 for financial reasons. All inmates were moved, but the Tag Plant remained open. Prisoners who work there were bused in and out daily. Since inmates are on campus at all, access to the property is difficult. But now that the plant is closing, conservation efforts can move forward. Whorton heads the Nevada State Prison Preservation Society. They’d like to see it become…
“…a fully featured museum with interpretive exhibits, tours and docents. We believe that such a museum and such a location would be a significant addition to the tourism activities that take place in this state.”
That was Whorton making his case recently for AB377, which would create an endowment fund to help preserve and develop the prison not only as a museum, but for government use as well as for correctional training. Assemblyman P.K. O’Neill is the bill’s main sponsor.
“In addition to its history as a penal institution, it has also sparked interest from the University of Nevada, Reno because of fossilized footprints on the prison grounds.”
Ah yes, the footprints! One day in the late 1800s, inmates who were mining rock from the quarry stumbled upon a set of giant footprints in the prison’s muddy foundation. They were 20 inches long, eight inches wide and nearly two million years old. These petrified imprints became the subject of controversy between several Bay Area scientists and Mark Twain.
“He attributed them to the first territorial Legislature.”
Gene Hattori is a curator of anthropology at the Nevada State Museum.
“He had a great story about tracing the footprints from the saloon, through the mud during the thunderstorm that was happening at that time.”
Of course, that wasn’t true, but debate did flare. Some thought they belonged to a new species of human, christened Homo Nevadensis, Nevada’s Big Foot. Thousands flocked to see the footprints. Eventually, a paleontologist named Chester Stock concluded that they actually belonged to a giant prehistoric ground sloth.
This kind of unique history has generated a lot of support for AB377, but Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton did have one concern.
“It was a prison before; it’s not going to be a prison anymore. What is the state losing by not disposing of this property the way it would dispose of other properties?”
The property can’t be sold because it shares utilities with nearby Warm Springs Correctional Facility, which is still in use.
But despite the prison’s relationship with its neighbor, bill supporters also point to the property’s tourism potential. Claudia Vecchio is Director of the Division of Tourism and Culture.
“There are rich and wonderful, compelling stories that have occurred out there. And we believe that those will bring in fact wonderful experiences for travelers who come to Carson City.
Vecchio suggests that not only will the Nevada State Prison draw interest for its fascinating historic past, but it could also become a haunted money maker for those brave enough to spend a night locked-up in its cells.
For information on the progress of AB377, and to track the Nevada State Prison's national historical nomination, visit nspps.org.
