1. In 1844, John C. Frémont and his team of explorers became the first non-native Americans to reach the top of the Sierra Nevada mountains on July 3, which is now known as Donner Pass.

2. On July 3, 1865, Nevada officially abolished slavery, becoming the first state to do so after the end of the Civil War.

3. In 1925, the first air mail delivery in Nevada took place on July 3, when a pilot named Richard Johnson flew from Salt Lake City to Elko in just over 2 hours.

4. July 3, 1930 marked the opening of the Boulder Dam (now known as the Hoover Dam) in Nevada, which provided power and water to much of the southwestern United States and is still a major tourist attraction today.

5. On July 3, 1996, the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas opened its doors for the first time, featuring the iconic 350-foot-high pyramid structure that is now a well-known landmark on the Las Vegas Strip.