Horse racing in the Nevada state capital.

Carson City, capital of Nevada, U.S., founded in 1858 on the site of Eagle Station, it took its name from the nearby Carson River, which the explorer John C. Frémont, who explored the region in 1843–44, named for his scout, Christopher (“Kit”) Carson.

The city was made the seat of Carson county, Utah Territory, on March 1 in 1861, a day before the Territory of Nevada was created by the U.S. Congress; an enterprising citizen, Abraham Curry, had already deeded a 10-acre (4-hectare) plot for the construction of a capital.

On November 25, 1861, Carson City became the territorial capital and on November 29 was made county seat of the newly designated Ormsby county. When Nevada became a state in 1864, Carson City became the seat of the new state government. In 1969 the city of Carson City and Ormsby county were consolidated to form one governmental unit called Carson City.