When the Capitol building was constructed, it was naturally located on "the plaza", which had, some ten or eleven years earlier, been designated for it, and given for that purpose.

Mark Twain wrote in his book Roughing It that the capitol site was in 1861 "a large, unfenced, level vacancy, with a liberty pole in it, and very useful as a place for public auctions, horse trades, mass meetings, and likewise for teamsters to camp in."

The "act to provide for the erection of a State Capitol" was passed by the Nevada Legislature and signed into law by Governor Henry G. Blasdel during 1869.

To reduce costs, the building sandstone was obtained free of charge from the Nevada State Prison quarry, just outside Carson City.

By the early 20th century, the legislature had outgrown the capitol, and prominent Nevada architect Frederic DeLongchamps was contracted to design northern and southern legislative wing-annexes, completed in time for the 1915 session.

These compatible wings used stone from the same quarry as the original portion of the capitol, and provided more office space and expanded legislative chambers.

Artifacts of Nevada history on display include Paiute crafts and a section of the rope used to hang the man convicted of the murder of folk heroine Julia Bulette.