Carson City, the seat of justice of Ormsby co., Nevada, and capital of the state, situated in Eagle valley, 4 m. from Carson river, and 178 m. N. E. of San Francisco; pop. in 1870, 3,042, of whom 697 were Chinese. It is in a fertile and picturesque region. The Sierra Nevada mountains rise abruptly on the west, while the valley of the Carson extends far to the north and east. A railroad connects it with Virginia and Gold Hill, in Storey co., which is used chiefly to transport ore from the mines at those places to the crushing mills on the Carson river, and to carry back timber, which is abundant on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The state house is in course of construction. The branch mint occupies a fine building. The deposits of bullion for the year ending June 30, 1872, amounted to $8,564,436 69, of which $4,371,573 55 were gold, and $4,192,863 14 silver. The total deposits of gold to that date were $5,499,537 59. The total coinage, including silver bars, has been 441,449 pieces, valued at $10,881,428 13, of which 77,029 pieces, valued at $874,461 05, were gold, and 364,420 pieces, valued at $10,006,607 08, were silver. The state prison is at Warm Springs, 2 m. to the east.
There are four quartz mills, with 76 stamps, for the production of silver, and several churches, good schools, two daily newspapers, and the state and odd fellows' libraries. Carson City was founded as a ranch before the discovery of silver in Nevada, after which time it increased rapidly, being on the line of travel through the state previous to the opening of the Central Pacific railroad.