On May 9, 2018 Reno celebrated 150 years, but how did we get here? What started as a small town in the 1800's has quickly grown into the city we know today.

Local resident, Jack Harpster, has spent the last few years studying Reno's history and put it in a book. 'The Genesis of Reno' looks into Reno's past and how it became the town it is today. "Drunken cowboys, wrestlers the whole thing in the early 1870's," explains Harpster.  

The Biggest Little City in the World was not what it used to be, just a small bridge, then known as Virginia Street, along with a small hotel, now known as the Riverside Hotel. "When it was mostly farms, ranches and a little town that was a railroad town, typical western railroad town with rowdy people," says Harpster.

Luckily that is not what we see today thanks to businesses coming to Reno and bringing in new jobs and growth to nearby cities.

Even though Harpster says Reno has grown over the years, he says it is difficult to see what Reno might become in the future. "What might be next I find it even difficult to look past where we are now because of the dramatic changes we have seen in the last 20 years."

Harpster book, "The Genesis of Reno" is available online and local bookstores.Â