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Administrative History
After the Territory of Nevada was established, Governor Nye ordered that an election be held by districts - counties not yet being established, to select the legislators and a delegate to Congress. He also declared that a legislative session should assemble at Carson City October 1, 1861. The session convened on that date and ended November 29,1861, lasting 60 days as provided in the Organization Act of Congress.
In the election held in August 1861, John Cradlebaugh, the former federal judge, was elected as the first territorial delegate to Congress.
 The first statute passed by the people of Nevada, as represented in the first session of the Nevada Territorial Legislature, was "An Act adopting the Common Law of England" which was signed by Governor Nye October 30, 1861. Nevada's original nine counties were established by an act approved November 25, 1861, replacing the temporary districts formed for census and election purposes. The nine counties in order of their mention in the act were Esmeralda, Douglas, Ormsby, Washoe, Lyon, Storey, Lake, Humboldt, and Churchill.
Among other actions taken at this first session of Nevada's Territorial Legislature was "An Act to Prohibit Gambling," which provided that persons who were involved with games of chance were guilty of a felony and subject to imprisonment for two years and a fine of up to $500.
Early action was taken to designate a seat of government for the newly-established territory. The legislators chose Carson City, which had been designated the new county seat for Carson County by the Utah Territorial Legislature earlier the same year.
The legislature provided for an election to be held "on the second Tuesday in January, A.D. 1862, at which there shall be elected all territorial, county, and township officers authorized by the laws of this territory, and not otherwise provided for;" thus it provided for actual organization of the county governments in particular. In a separate act, boards of County Commissioners to consist of three members, were established for each organized county. The Nevada Militia was provided for in a lengthy 84-section act.
To provide for county representation in following territorial legislative sessions, an act stipulating that the several assessors in the counties enumerate their white inhabitants and transmit these "census" returns to the governor, was adopted. Authority was given to the governor "to apportion the number of the members of the legislative assembly, to be elected in each county, according to the number of inhabitants as shown by the returns of the county assessors." Another act provided for annual sessions of the legislative assembly of the Territory of Nevada to "convene on the second Tuesday in November of each year." The first session also increased the size of the territorial legislature to 13 councilmen and 26 representatives.
An act approved November 29, 1861, divided the territory into three judicial districts, the first to embrace Storey, Washoe, and Lake counties; the second, Ormsby, Douglas, and Esmeralda counties; the third, Lyon, Churchill, and Humboldt counties. The same act provided county seats for the several counties as follows: Esmeralda County, Aurora; Douglas County, Genoa; Ormsby County, Carson City; Washoe County, Washoe City; Storey County, Virginia City; Churchill County, Buckland's; Humboldt County, Unionville; Lake County, (decision of voters); and Lyon County, Dayton.
Territorial officers and local county and township officers were designated by this first session of the territorial legislature as follows: for the Territory, in addition to top officials appointed by the U.S. president, were a treasurer, auditor and ex officio librarian, superintendent of public instruction, delegate to Congress, members of the Council, members of the House of Representatives, and an attorney for each judicial district; for each county, a county clerk and ex officio auditor, sheriff, tax collector, assessor, treasurer, recorder, county surveyor, county school superintendent, and three commissioners; for each township, a justice of the peace and ex officio coroner; and a constable. District attorneys and probate judges were to be nominated by the governor and confirmed by the Legislative Council. Territorial officers not appointed by the President were to be appointed by the Governor; with confirmation by the Legislative Council. Road supervisors were to be elected in the road districts of the territory. Territorial officers appointed by the governor, county officers, and members of the legislative council were to hold office for two years. Members of the House of Representatives and township officers were to hold office for one year. The governor was authorized to appoint a number of notaries public to hold their offices at the pleasure of the executive.
Many acts of this first territorial session were lengthy, some running to six and seven hundred sections, and laid a firm foundation of law on which the future was to be built. The first Nevada Territorial Session ended November 29, 1861.
Photo Credit: Council Bill 1, 1861, adopting the Common Law of England. Nevada State Archives
Records of the First Territorial Legislature
Working Records October 1 to November 29, 1861 4 cu. ft. TERR-0113; TERR-0158 to 0164
Original documents of the First Territorial Legislature include manuscript and printed bills, in draft and/or final form; joint resolutions; joint rules; Council and House daily journals; citizen petitions and correspondence; Governor's message and proclamation; and a Territorial Laws index. Individual bills may demonstrate revisions and contain cross-outs or paste-overs. Each bill contains notations about actions taken: readings, bill passage or defeat, and date signed by the Governor. The Journals, maintained separately by both the Council and the House, contain minutes of the proceedings, corrections made by paste-ins or cross-outs, text of bills cut from newspapers, and roll call vote results.
These records are arranged by body of origin, either Council or House. Bills are in numerical order, followed by other items. The bill files for both Council and House are incomplete.
Official Records 1861-1864; bulk, 1861 15 vols.
The official records of the Territorial legislature is comprised of bound volumes which were originally sent to the U.S. Congress for approval. There are three or four series for each session: Council, House, General Legislature, and Governor. Similar volumes appear in each: proceedings, journals, indexes, general orders, 3rd readings of bills, bill registers, and various others. Not all types are present in each session of the Legislature nor for each chamber of the Legislature.
First Session: Council
Item: TLEGIS-0011 Date: 1861
Type: Volume
Remarks: Council introduction and reading of bills, 1st Session
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Division: Council
Item: TLEGIS-0010 Date: 1861
Type: Volume
Remarks: Council proceedings, 1st Session
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Division: Council
Item: TLEGIS-0001 Old #: T/V/A2/2 Date: 1861
Type: Volume
Remarks: Council journal, 1st Session
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Division: Council
First Session: House
Item: TLEGIS-0021 Old #: S/A/A4/6/15 Date: 1861
Type: Volume
Remarks: House index to general orders, 1st Session
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Division: House
Item: TLEGIS-0018 Old #: T/V/A2/8 Date: 1861
Type: Volume
Remarks: House general orders, 1st Session
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Division: House
Item: TLEGIS-0020 Old #: Date: 1861
Type: Volume
Remarks: House index to 3rd reading book, 1st Session
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Division: House
Item: TLEGIS-0019 Old #: Date: 1861
Type: Volume
Remarks: House 3rd reading book, 1st Session
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Division: House
Item: TLEGIS-0017 Old #: Date: 1861
Type: Volume
Remarks: House register of bills, 1st Session
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Division: House
Item: TLEGIS-0002 Old #: T/V/A2/3 Date: 1861
Type: Volume
Remarks: House journal and index of acts, 1st Session
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Division: House
First Session: Legislature
Item: TLEGIS-0041 Old #: T/V/A2/3 Date: 1861-1864
Type: Volume
Remarks: Index to records, proclamations, appointments, messages, 1st Session (index to TLEG-0034)
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Item: TLEGIS-0037 Old #: Date: 1861
Type: Volume
Remarks: Enrolled laws, 1st Session. Water and mold damage
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Item: TLEGIS-0036 Old #: T/V/A1/18 Date: 1861-1862
Type: Volume
Remarks: Letter book of William Gillespie correspondence to the Territorial Legislature, 1862; minutes of the Standing Committee on Enrollments, 1862; petitions and remonstrances to the first Territorial Legislature, 1861 (see TLEGIS-0182 for index)
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Item: TLEGIS-0182 Old #: Date: 1861
Type: Volume
Remarks: Petitions and remonstrances index (to TLEGIS-0036)
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Item: TLEGIS-0039 Old #: Date: 1861
Type: Volume
Remarks: Draft of statutes; bills passed on Nov. 29, 1861, 1st Session. Severe water and mold damage
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
Item: TLEGIS-0031 Old #: Box 0016X Date: 1861
Type: Volume
Remarks: Statutes of Nevada draft, index of statutes draft, manuscript journals of House, 1st Session. Mold damage
Agency: Legislature, Territorial
First Session: Governor
Item: TLEGIS-0034 Old #: T/V/A2/4 Date: 1861-1864
Type: Volume
Remarks: Proclamations reported to Territorial Legislature, certificates of election, pardons, appointments, record of marriages, reports, 1st through 3rd Sessions. Index: TLEG-0041
Agency: Governor, Territorial
Division: Governor Nye
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