The Nevada State Journal shouted out the big news in a boldface, front page headline.
Today no one needs to get away to divorce – they just divorce. But “splittin’ blankets” wasn’t always so easy
Before 1931, most states required a waiting period of one year or more, and the only legal ground allowed was proof of adultery.
On March 20, 1931, Nevada made it simple
In the depths of the Great Depression, Nevada Governor Fred B. Balzar signed two highly controversial bills: one to legalize gambling in Nevada; the other to reduce the residency requirement for a divorce in the State from three months to just six weeks.
Now anyone seeking to get out of their marital bounds in a hurry could reside anywhere in the State for six weeks. At the time, Reno was the “biggest little city” in Nevada (Las Vegas would get in the act later). It took an average of six minutes in court before a judge to get a divorce decree.
The motives behind the legalized gambling and six-week divorce measures were purely economic: to bring people and their money to Nevada. And, indeed, people came, spent their money, and Nevada made it through the Depression years.
9 grounds for a Reno divorce
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
9. Extreme cruelty entirely mental in nature – the most popular.
When word got out about Reno’s “quickie” divorce the floodgates opened
Divorce seekers (a term coined by the media) came running to Reno by the thousands and the divorce business exploded.They came from all walks of life – the rich, the poor, Eastern socialites, and the working class. It wasn’t long before the wild and wooly small town “out West” became known nationwide, even worldwide, as the “Divorce Capital of the World.” Reno was the place to go.
Publicity about the Reno divorce generated its own glossary of divorce terms. “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.
To accommodate the influx of divorce seekers, hotels, boardinghouses and divorce ranches (a dude ranch catering to divorce seekers) sprang up in and around Reno. For six weeks, divorce seekers spent their money on food, lodging, gambling, drinking, Western wear, and more. Many divorce seekers fell in love during their six weeks – some with the West and others with someone they met. Many wealthy Easterners stayed in Nevada after their divorce, bringing with them their wealth and their culture.
Throughout the 1940s, Reno continued to retain its title as “Divorce Capital of the World”. However, in the 1950s, Las Vegas began to catch up, and by the 1960s was granting half of Nevada’s divorces. By the 1970s, as other states were relaxing their divorce laws, the need to go to Reno for a divorce faded out.
Today no one needs to go to Reno for a divorce, they just divorce. But the story of how a small town in Nevada came to redefine divorce in America is a remarkable true story and a part of history few know about today.