In 1852, three years after the discovery of gold in California, seven members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established a trading post in what is now Genoa. They spent the summer there before returning to Utah. A year later, Church member John Reece and others came with provisions in 13 wagons to establish a trading post soon known as Mormon Station, located just two miles south of the original trading post. This station became a profitable trading post and site of Nevada's first colony, Genoa.
In 1855, 30 men were called to establish a mission at the Meadows in southern Nevada. A prosperous silver mine was discovered and cultivated there. These early colonists in both Genoa and southern Nevada were called to Utah to assist with the war threat in Salt Lake City. Several other colonies prospered in Nevada from 1865 to the 1890s. In the late 1920s, many Utahns moved to Nevada in search of better economic conditions. The Las Vegas Nevada Temple was dedicated in 1989 as "an oasis of peace and light."