Nevada

Before the arrival of Europeans, the land of Nevada was inhabited by Native American Tribes including the Shoshone, the Paiute, the Washoe, and the Mohave. They lived in small villages and built dome-shaped homes called wikiups. They mostly ate vegetables including pine nuts and roots, but they also hunted and fished for food. Most of the tribes were peaceful prior to the Europeans arrival.The first European to arrive in the area was Spanish friar Francisco Garcés in the 1700s. Few more Europeans ventured into the region until the 1800s. In 1827, fur trapper and explorer Jedediah Smith passed through the Las Vegas Valley on his way to California. He mapped out much of the area for future travelers. Another fur trader, Peter Ogden, traveled along the Humboldt River in 1828.
Nevada was considered part of Spain and then Mexico up until the Mexican-American War. At the end of the war, in 1848, Nevada became part of the United States as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In 1850, Nevada was organized into the Utah Territory and then became its own territory in 1861. On October 31, 1864 Nevada was admitted as the 36th state.