The Territory of Nevada was created by an Act of Congress signed by President James Buchanan, effective March 2, 1861. President Abraham Lincoln appointed James W. Nye of New York as Nevada's first Territorial Governor.

On October 31, 1864, President Lincoln proclaimed Nevada's admission to the Union as the 36th state. The creation of the Nevada Territory and its admission to the Union were related to both the Civil War and the mineral wealth of the Comstock Lode. During the next 75 years, many mining towns flourished, if only briefly, all over the state. Since 1931, tourism, particularly entertainment and legalized gaming, have become increasingly important to Nevada's economy. Mining also has rebounded in recent years, and Nevada now produces more gold than any other state. Federal legislation enacted in 1986 created the Great Basin National Park, the only national park in the state, which includes the area around Wheeler Peak and Lehman Caves in eastern Nevada.

• In March 1931, Governor Fred Balzar signed into law the bill legalizing gambling in the state.
• Nevada takes its name from a Spanish word meaning snow-clad.
• Most of the state is desert, but the Sierra Nevada mountain range near Reno and the Ruby Mountains near Elko have snow for half the year.
• Construction worker Hard Hat's were first invented specifically for workers on the Hoover Dam in 1933.
• Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state, with its highest point at the 13,145 foot top of Boundary Peak near the west-central border.
• Nevada is the largest gold-producing state in the nation. It is second in the world behind South Africa.
• The longest morse code telegram ever sent was the Nevada state constitution. Sent from Carson City to Washington, D.C., in 1864, the transmission took several hours.