Nevada 150 Commission members look on as Gov. Brian Sandoval dedicates a Incense Cedar tree and plaque during a ceremony on the Capitol grounds on Tuesday.
Gov. Brian Sandoval and members of the Nevada 150 commission on Tuesday dedicated the permanent Sesquicentennial Exhibit at the state Capitol.
The centerpiece of the exhibit is the handmade saddle created by J.M. Capriola saddle makers in Elko. The saddle is in the style of G.S. Garcia who founded the company in the 1800s and features Nevada 150 commemorative silver medallions as well as numerous other silver decorations. It was crafted by Armando Delgado and features the original hand made Garcia family nameplate donated for the project by Dee Dee Garcia, great granddaughter of J.S. Garcia.
The permanent exhibit also features a diorama entitled “Home Means Nevada,” the title of the state song, that has been created using only materials from Nevada and other items from the past year’s 500-plus events.
Sandoval billed the dedication as the final event of the year-long 150th birthday celebration of statehood. But 150 Commission Chairman Bud Hicks said afterward there’s actually one more event set for Thursday when they erect the last of the 115 Nevada historic markers in Duck Valley. Hicks told the crowd of about 50 before the commission raised enough money to refurbish all 115 of those historic markers around the state
In addition, Sandoval and commission members dedicated an incense cedar tree planted on the capitol grounds. He said that was the first indigenous tree identified by John C. Fremont in the 1840s. He said it could live more than 500 years and still be standing when Nevada hits its 500th birthday.
All the pieces of the exhibit will be on permanent display in the Capitol, first in the old Assembly Chambers at the north end and then in the museum that now occupies the old Senate chambers.