Today no one needs to get away to divorce – they just divorce. But “splittin’ blankets” wasn’t always easy. In most states, getting a divorce required a waiting period of one year or more and proof of adultery…

Or you could go to RENO!

On March 19, 1931, Nevada made it simple

In the depths of the Great Depression, Nevada Governor Fred B. Balzar signed two highly controversial bills for the state of Nevada: one, to legalize gambling; the other, to reduce the residency requirement for a divorce from three months to only six weeks. The Nevada State Journal headlines shouted out the big news in boldface type on Page One…

Now, anyone seeking a “quickie” divorce (as it would be called) could reside anywhere in Nevada for six weeks, pick their reason for wanting a divorce from a list of 9 legal grounds that required little or no proof, and spend an average of six minutes in court before a judge to get the divorce decree.

9 grounds for a Nevada divorce
as of March 19, 1931

1. Impotency
2. Adultery
3. Desertion
4. Conviction of a felony
5. Habitual drunkeness
6. Neglect to provide the common necessities of life
7. Insanity
8. Living apart for three years
… and the most popular
9. The most popular: Extreme cruelty entirely mental in nature

The motives behind the legalized gambling and six-week divorce measures were purely economic: to bring people and their money to the State. And, indeed, people came and people spent their money.

For decades to come, legalized gambling and easy divorce would set Nevada apart from the rest of the nation and, in some circles, taint the image of the State. However, it was legalized gambling and easy divorce that helped Nevada get through the bare and lean years of the Great Depression.

When word got out about Nevada’s six-week divorce, the floodgates opened

Divorce seekers (a term coined by the media) came running to Reno by the thousands.  They came from all walks of life – the rich, the poor, Eastern socialites, and the working class. They were mostly women, but men came, too. (Las Vegas was still a speck on the map and wouldn’t get in the divorce business until years later.)

Reno became known nationwide – even worldwide – as the “Divorce Capital of the World” and Reno was the place to go.

Publicity about the Reno divorce generated its own Glossary of Reno Divorce Jargon. “Getting Reno-vated” (a term coined by columnist Walter Winchell), “I’m Going to Reno!” and “Taking the Cure” were synonymous for getting a divorce in Reno. A “Divorcée Special” was a train bringing divorce seekers to Reno. The Washoe County Courthouse was “The Separator.” There was even a brassiere called “The Reno” because it both separated and supported.

Divorce ranches flourished in the 1930s to 1950s

To accommodate the influx of divorce seekers, hotels, boardinghouses and divorce ranches sprang up around Reno. (Someone called a dude ranch that catered to divorce seekers a divorce ranch and the name stuck.) For six weeks, divorce seekers spent their money on food and lodging, gambling, drinking, lawyers, personal necessities, Western wear, and more. Many divorce seekers fell in love during their six weeks in Reno – some with the West, others with someone they met. Many Easterners stayed in Nevada after their divorce, bringing with them their wealth and their culture.

Flying M.E. divorce seeker in her new Western wear with Flying M.E. divorce ranch wrangler Bill McGee, 1948. (William and Sandra McGee Collection)

Reno continued to retain its title as “Divorce Capital of the World” throughout the 1940s. However, in the 1950s, Las Vegas began to catch up and by the 1960s was granting half of Nevada’s divorces.  By the 1970s, other states were relaxing their divorce laws and the need to go to Reno for a divorce faded out.

That unique Nevada institution – the divorce ranches – have faded away,
but Nevada as a place “to split” will remain a legend of our time

 

For more about the Nevada divorce ranch era
read true stories from the Flying M.E.
by former divorce ranch wrangler
William L. McGee