March 1861 (California Claims Aurora): The California Legislature created Mono County, California, and named Aurora as its county seat.

November 1861 (Nevada Claims Aurora): The Nevada Territorial Legislature created Esmeralda County, Nevada, and also named Aurora its county seat. Because no one knew exactly where the state line was, the town operated as the county seat for both California and Nevada simultaneously for two years.

       September 1863 (The Boundary Line is Drawn): An official boundary survey proved Aurora was located three miles inside Nevada. California officials peacefully conceded, packed up their records, and moved the Mono County seat over the state line to Bridgeport, California. Aurora was now solely the county seat of Esmeralda County, Nevada. 

        In October 1864 (Nevada Statehood): A year after the border dispute was settled, Nevada officially transitioned from a territory to the 36th U.S. state, with Aurora remaining an official Nevada county seat. At the Armory, they cast ballots for California officials. And at the Police Station, they cast ballots for Nevada Territory officials. Remarkably, two local politicians were elected to their respective legislatures, and both men simultaneously served as the Speakers of the House for California and Nevada.

         The dual-county seat setup finally ended just a few weeks after that double election, when federal surveyors finally dragged their equipment out to the desert and proved the town belonged to Nevada.