23 Facts About Abraham Curry

Abraham Van Santvoord Curry is considered the founding father of Carson City, Nevada.

Abraham Curry was the first superintendent of the Carson City Mint and the first warden of Nevada State Prison.

Abraham Curry donated 10 acres of land for the site of the Nevada State Capitol, for which the state prison quarry provided the stone for its construction.

Abraham Curry spent the final years of his life building facilities for the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in Carson City.

Abraham Van Santvoord Curry was born on February 19,1815, in the hamlet of South Trenton, New York.

Abraham Curry was the first son of Campbell Curry and Elvira Skinner Curry, who were married in South Trenton.

In 1856, the two were in the mining town of Red Dog, where Abraham Curry opened a bowling alley and established the first branch "tribe" of the Improved Order of Red Men in California.

Abraham Curry met future business partners Benjamin F Green, John J Musser, and Francis "Frank" Marion Proctor in the nearby town of Downieville.

In 1858, Abraham Curry traveled by stagecoach with Green, Musser, and Proctor, from California to the town of Genoa after news had spread that the western part of Utah Territory had been abandoned by Mormon settlers returning to Salt Lake City because of the Utah War.

Abraham Curry's $1000 offer to buy a corner lot on which to build a store in Genoa was refused for being insufficient.

Abraham Curry partnered with Musser and Proctor to purchase the Eagle Ranch trading post and 865 acres of the surrounding valley for a down payment of $300 in coins out of a total sale price of $1,000.

Musser and Proctor, who were both attorneys, worked to carve a separate territory from Utah, while Abraham Curry promoted the newly founded Carson City.

Abraham Curry set aside and donated 10 acres of land for the site of the Nevada State Capitol.

In 1861, Abraham Curry built a 100-foot stone hotel on top of warm springs about two miles east of the city center.

In 1862, the Nevada Territorial Legislature leased the Warm Springs Hotel from Abraham Curry to hold meetings and detain prisoners.

In 1864, the territorial legislature paid $80,000 to acquire the hotel along with 20 acres of land from Abraham Curry, who was appointed the first warden of the facility that would become known as Nevada State Prison.

Abraham Curry was named one of the planning commissioners and became the first superintendent when the Carson City Mint began operating in 1870.

Later that year, Abraham Curry left the Mint to accept a commission to supervise the building of an engine house and machine shop for the Virginia and Truckee Railroad.

In 1871, Abraham Curry had designed and built a home for his family in Carson City, where he would spend the last two years of his life.

Three months after the completion of the railroad project, Abraham Curry died of a stroke on October 19,1873.

Abraham Curry was buried in Lone Mountain Cemetery in the largest funeral ever held in Carson City.

Abraham Curry's house was passed down to his daughter Elvira, who in turn passed it on to her son W H Cowan, in 1902.

Abraham Curry was portrayed by the actor Mark Bennett in the 1956 episode, "The Man Who'd Bet on Anything" on the syndicated television anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews.