Saying you were going to Reno once meant you wanted a divorce
For much of the 20th century, telling a friend you were going to Reno meant you were ending your marriage. A 1931 law cut Nevada's residency requirement to six weeks, and that same year the state legalised open gambling, setting Reno on the path from railroad stop to casino town.
The city began as a river crossing. In 1859, as the Comstock Lode silver rush drew thousands west, Charles W. Fuller built a log toll bridge over the Truckee River to link Virginia City with the California Trail. Two years later he sold it to Myron C. Lake, who added a grist mill, kiln and livery stable and called the settlement Lake's Crossing. Lake gave land to the Central Pacific Railroad in return for a depot, and the town took its name from Jesse L. Reno, a Union general killed at the Battle of South Mountain.
Reno became seat of Washoe County in 1871, and the Virginia and Truckee Railroad arrived in 1872, helping it become the main settlement on the transcontinental line between Sacramento and Salt Lake City. As mining faded early in the 20th century, business and political weight shifted toward Reno and Las Vegas. Reno stayed Nevada's largest city until the 1960 census, when Las Vegas pulled ahead.
Divorce became an industry. Nevada allowed many grounds for ending a marriage, and Reno billed itself as the Divorce Capital of the World. Most visitors were women, since both spouses did not have to appear in court; jewellers offered to reset rings, and the El Cortez Hotel was built partly for wealthy six-week guests. Mary Pickford, Jack Dempsey and Rita Hayworth were among the famous names who divorced there, but the trade shrank fast after the 1970s as states such as California eased their own laws.
Gambling took over. Reno entrepreneur Bill Graham led the push for legal gaming, and within a few years his Bank Club, co-owned with George Wingfield and Jim McKay, was Nevada's largest employer and the world's biggest casino. Harrah's and Harold's Club opened in the 1930s. From 2000, Native American casinos in California ate into Reno's takings, and the area has since turned toward technology, drawing investment from companies including Tesla, Panasonic and Apple.
Source: Reno, Nevada
