Nevada Church Records
This entry was originally written by Nell Sachse Woodard and Dwight A. Radford for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
Historically, Nevada was built on the lure of mineral wealth; the populace shifted with each succeeding strike. Establishing churches and bringing religion to this transient group of people was not only difficult but was compounded by the fire destruction of numerous early frame churches. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), Roman Catholic, Methodist, Episcopalian, Congregationalist, and Jewish congregations all have had some historical part in the establishment of religion in Nevada. A description of early churches is found in Marjorie A. Hanes, Early Nevada Churches (Reno: Nevada State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1974). Today the largest denominations in the state are the Roman Catholic Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Research into Episcopal records is made easy by the fact that the parish records for 1862 to 1969 for the diocese have been deposited at the Nevada Historical Society. The church is served by the Nevada Diocese of Reno, 515 Court St., P.O. Box 1121, Reno, NV 89504-1221. The Roman Catholics are served by two dioceses, in Las Vegas and Reno: Diocese of Las Vegas, 336 Cathedral Way, P.O. Box 18316, Las Vegas, NV 89114-8316; and Diocese of Reno, 2905 Arlington, Ste. 200, Reno, NV 89501.
The records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for Nevada have been microfilmed and are found in the FHL and are also available at its Las Vegas FHC.
The United Methodist Church in Nevada is served by the Desert Southwest District, 1550 E. Meadow Brook Ave., Ste. 200, Phoenix, AZ 85014-4040.
