How Well Do You Know Your Nevada Railroad History?

Virginia & Truckee Railroad Today

  Railroads played an essential role in the development of the Silver State. In fact, if not for the development of the Central Pacific Railroad in the 1860s, Nevada might not even exist today.

  The following are a few trivia questions related to Nevada’s railroads that are designed to test your knowledge of the state’s rich rail-related history.

  Q: When did the first railroad locomotive enter Nevada?

  A: On December 13, 1867, the first locomotive, from the Central Pacific Railroad, edged across the state line near present-day Verdi. Construction of the line, which started in Sacramento, California, had begun on January 8, 1863, and took five years due to difficulties in building over (and through) the Sierra Nevada range.

  Q: What rail official was responsible for naming Reno?

  A: Reno was named by Judge Edwin B. Crocker, attorney for the Central Pacific Railroad (and brother of Charles Crocker, superintendent of the railroad) in honor of General Jesse L. Reno, a Union officer killed in the battle of South Mountain, Maryland in 1862.  

  Q: What potential rival to the Central Pacific Railroad conducted a survey in 1862 for a rail line from Sacramento to Virginia City, via Placerville and Lake Tahoe?

  A: The San Francisco and Washoe Railroad Company, incorporated in 1864, planned to build along a route roughly parallel to today's Highway 50.  The line would have connected with the Placerville & Sacramento Valley and the Sacramento Valley railroads.  The company envisioned eventually extending the line from Virginia City to Austin but never got off the ground.

  Q: What Nevada railroad advertised itself as “Queen of the Short Lines?”

  A: The famous Virginia & Truckee Railroad, which ran from Virginia City to Carson City to Reno (during its peak period), and included a branch line to Minden.

  Q: What railroad name was apparently so popular it was used twice in two different parts of the state?

  A: The name was the Nevada Central Railroad, which applied first to a shortline between Pioche and Bullionville that ran from 1872 to about 1883, then to a later, more successful line between Battle Mountain and Austin that operated from 1880 to 1938.

  Q: What Northern Nevada town was created in 1902 after the Southern Pacific Railroad (formerly the Central Pacific) moved its shops and facilities there from Wadsworth?

  A: The new company town was originally called "East Reno," then "New Reno," then, in 1903, "Harriman," after the President of the railroad.  In 1905, it was officially incorporated as "Sparks," after then Governor John Sparks.

  Q: What did Carson & Colorado Railroad owner Darius O. Mills once say about his railroad during an inspection tour of the line in 1883?

  A: Mills arrived in Hawley, California in the Owens Valley, which at the time was the end of the 293-mile line that was supposed to continue to Mojave in Southern California. He scanned the sandy, dry desert along the eastern side of the valley—not near the more fertile agricultural region on the west side—and said the railroad had been built either 300 miles too long or 300 years too soon. The line did not extend beyond Hawley (later called Keeler) until after it was later sold to the Southern Pacific Railroad and its name was changed to the Nevada & California Railroad. The line survived until 1959.

Wander Eureka's Back Streets to Discover Additional Fascinating History — Part 2

Eureka Sentinel Museum (Photo courtesy of Travel Nevada/Sydney Martinez)

  Not all the history in the former mining town of Eureka is found on its Main Street. Go a block or two from the main drag and you’ll find plenty of other places that provide glimpses of the community’s rich past.

  Along the town’s side streets visitors will find aging brick, stone and wooden buildings from the last century beside newer homes and structures that speak of more recent developments.

  For instance, at the south end of town the Tannehill Log Cabin, located on Highway 50, which is believed to be Eureka’s oldest building. The crude log structure was constructed in either 1864 or 1865 and was reportedly the first house built in the town. Later, it was used as the town’s first commercial store.

  If you head west, back into town, you’ll spot a small gas station and general store in a two-story brick building. This structure was built in 1882 as the Ottawa Hotel and was later converted to a general store. In the 1920s, it became one of the state’s earliest gas stations.

  On the corner on Edwards and Galena streets, on the hillside above the south end of Eureka, is the Zadow and Morrison residence, built in 1886. This elegant Victorian was originally owned by James Wilson, and then was purchased by William Zadow, who operated a local butcher shop and a hotel.

  Heading north on O'Neil Street, you encounter St. Brendan's Catholic Church, built in 1874. This sturdy stone structure was constructed with volcanic tuff taken from a quarry on the west side of town. It is still used.

  Nearby is the Presbyterian Church, now called the Eureka Bible Church. Built in 1873 by a Presbyterian congregation, the church has actually been used over the years by several different denominations.

  Down the hill from the Presbyterian Church is the Eureka Sentinel Museum. This two-story building, which has three distinctive arched front doorways, was built in 1879. Constructed of bricks made locally, the Eureka Sentinel building was home of the town newspaper, which was printed there until 1960.

  In the early 1980s, the building was restored and opened as a museum. Today, you can find an interesting collection of historic artifacts ranging from mining equipment to photos of the various floods and fires that hit the town.

  Additionally, it contains a 1872 printing press and a wall covered with historic handbills and posters printed at the shop.

  Nearby is the Colonnade Hotel, a whitewashed brick structure built in 1880. It began operating under its present name in 1886 and was closed from 1890 to the 1940s, when it was renovated and reopened. In recent years, new owners have lovingly restored the old hotel and once again offer rooms for rent.

  Farther up the street from the Colonnade is the former home of Governor Reinhold Sadler (1896-1902). Sadler built this two-story brick house in 1879 and it remains a private residence.

  A few houses away is the former Eureka County High School, built in 1924. It housed all grades until 1969, when a new high school was built above the town.

  On the other (east) side of Main Street, you can find a handful of other historic sites, such as the St. James Episcopal Church on Spring Street. Built in 1872 of volcanic tuff, this was Eureka's first stone church. It was used until 1907 and has been reopened in recent years.

  A few doors away is the former Methodist Church, now a private residence. This stone structure was erected in 1881 and used until the 1920s. By the early 1980s, it had deteriorated to four walls with no ceiling. In the 1980s, it was rebuilt as a home and workshop.

  If you wander north on Spring and Paul streets, you pass a number of picturesque, abandoned buildings, including the brick ruins of the Skillman House, built in 1870 by Archibald Skillman, who was the founder and publisher of the Eureka Sentinel newspaper.

  To the west are the photogenic remains of a stone warehouse, probably built in the 1880s. The walls and arches, made of beige volcanic tuff taken from a quarry on the nearby hillside, indicate a high degree of workmanship.

  In addition to its dozens of historic buildings, Eureka also has five large cemeteries located on the western edge of the town. This area, called Graveyard Flat and Death Valley in the 1880s, includes the city, county, Odd Fellows, Masonic and Catholic cemeteries. Chinese and Jewish cemeteries were also once here, but have mostly disappeared due to vandalism.

  For more information about Eureka, check out the Visit Eureka website at: https://www.visiteurekanevada.net/. A useful walking tour map can be found at: https://www.visiteurekanevada.net/walking-tour-map.

Great Stories Found Wherever You Walk in Historic Eureka — Part 1

 

Downtown Eureka, Nevada (Photo courtesy of Travel Nevada/ Sidney Martinez)

  History lives in every building in the historic Central Nevada mining town of Eureka.

  In fact, with the possible exception of Virginia City, no other Silver State community has managed to keep its historical character as intact as Eureka.

  Founded in 1869, Eureka quickly grew into a city of canvas tents, log cabins and wooden shanties. The haphazard boomtown construction made the town vulnerable to fire, the first of which occurred in 1872.

  Four years later, seven major downtown buildings were destroyed by fire, despite the best efforts of a new steam pumper. That was followed by the town's worst fire, in April 1879, which burned nearly half the community and caused more than $1 million in damages. An 1880 blaze torched 300 homes and businesses.

  Fire wasn't the only danger. Flash floods ripped through the town in 1874, 1876 and 1878. Fifteen residents lost their lives in the flooding of 1874.

  Because of the dual threats of fires and floods of the early years, Eureka's residents rebuilt many of their structures, particularly in the downtown out of brick, with fireproof iron shutters and doors.

  The sturdy construction helped lessen the fire danger and has allowed the town to stave the usual ravages of time. Today, Eureka is one of the finest examples of a 19th century mining town found in Nevada.

  Eureka's main street is lined with well-preserved brick and wooden commercial buildings, most of which are still used. Two of the most prominent are the Eureka County Courthouse and the Eureka Opera House and Theatre.

  The two-story brick courthouse, completed in 1880 and restored a few years ago, is one of the state's most classic frontier halls of justice topped with an elaborate white cornice. Like many of Eureka's buildings, the courthouse has iron shutters on doors and windows.

  The Opera House, restored a few years ago and reopened as a convention center, was originally built in 1880. The two-story red brick building was constructed with two-foot thick masonry walls, a brick and iron front, and a slate roof, to make it completely fireproof.

  Adjacent to Opera House is the Jackson House, an impressive two-story brick structure. Built in 1877, it was originally called the Jackson Hotel, then the Brown Hotel, and later the Jackson House. It was restored in the early 1980s and, when open, has served as a restaurant in recent years.

  On the other side of the Opera House is the modern-looking post office, actually housed in an historic brick building. It was originally home of the Eureka Meat and Groceries, which was built in 1880. The interior still has a press tin ceiling with floral and bird designs.

  Down the block, on the corner of Main and Gold streets, is the former San Francisco Brewery, erected in 1880. Later it served as a saloon and soda pop bottling plant, then as the post office and as offices.

  South of the Jackson House, you come to the main part of downtown. On the corner of Bateman and Buel streets is a two-story brick building, now a private residence, which was once the Ryland Building. Built in 1880, it originally contained offices and bedrooms, and later a restaurant.

  West is the partial facade of the Foley-Rickard-Johnson-Remington Building (now vacant), once a magnificent two-story brick building. Built in 1880, the structure was a hardware store with the Odd Fellow's Hall on the second floor. The upper level was demolished in 1983, following an earthquake.

  Nearby Raine's Market, also on Main Street, includes two historic brick structures, both built in 1879-80. The northern portion was originally a saloon, while the other part served as a clothing store. Inside, you can find the original hardwood floors.

  At the end of the block is the local bank, located within a stone building built in 1879 (although it's been modified and covered with stucco). The structure was originally a saloon, then converted to the Farmers and Merchants Bank in 1924. Later it became part of the First National Bank of Nevada.

  Across the street from the bank is the brick Masonic Building, built in 1880. It has served as a dry goods store, jewelry store, barbershop, bathhouse, tailor shop, tinsmith shop and post office. Just after the turn-of-the-century, the Masons began holding meetings in the basement.

  Al's Hardware, a half block up the street, is another Eureka institution. A portion of the stone building was built in 1873, then rebuilt following the fires in 1879 and 1880. In the 1880s, it served as a boarding house and saloon, then as the Eureka Cash Store. In 1946, Albert Biale opened the hardware store, which his family continues to operate.

  On the opposite side of the street you can find additional historic buildings such as the Tognini and Company building, which dates back to 1877; the Eureka Cafe (1873), and Jim and Lorraine's Cafe and Bar (1873).

  An excellent resource for exploring Eureka is the Walking Tour Map found at https://www.visiteurekanevada.net/walking-tour-map.

  Next week, we’ll wander some of Eureka’s side streets looking for more history.

More Than Meets the Eye in Wendover

  On the surface, the town of Wendover doesn’t appear to be a place with much history. But look a little closer and you’ll find plenty of interesting stories.

  Wendover, located on the Nevada-Utah state boundary, can trace its roots to Jedediah Smith, the first non-Native American to visit Nevada. In 1827, Smith is believed to have crossed the nearby Bonneville Salt Flats while returning from an expedition to the future state of California.

  In pre-historic times, the area around Wendover was actually beneath Lake Bonneville, a large inland sea that covered western Utah and Eastern Nevada, according to historian Ronald R. Bateman, who wrote an excellent area history entitled, “Wendover: Winds of Change.”

  In 1833, fur trapper Zenas Leonard journeyed through the area and wrote that he had seen a tall mountain (10,715-feet) covered with snow (now known as Pilot Peak Mountain), which he said stood out because it appeared to be unconnected to any other mountain range.

  Later, many emigrant wagon parties camped in the area during their journey to Oregon and California. Pilot Peak, which has natural springs at its base, served as a guide for those traveling across the barren salt flats.

  The community of Wendover found its footing much later, in the early 20th century, when the Western Pacific Railroad established the town, complete with a roundhouse, depot, water tower and other services in 1907. The first train to reach Wendover arrived two years later.

  For several decades, Wendover was a sleepy hamlet that mostly catered to rail traffic and, starting in the 1920s, to automobile travelers on the Lincoln and Victory highways, which passed through the community.

  In 1914, a man named Teddy Tezlaff drove a Blitzen Benz automobile as fast as he could on the nearby Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first person to attempt to establish a land-speed record (his unofficial time was 141.73 miles per hour) on the flats.

  The town’s first travel-related business was established in 1926, when Bill Smith and Herman Eckstein opened the Cobblestone Service Station and put a light bulb on a pole in front that was never turned off. They called it “the light in the desert.”

  In 1932, Smith and Eckstein added a roulette table, becoming the first gaming establishment in Wendover.

  According to Ronald Bateman, the Second World War was a very significant event in the town’s history because in 1940-41, the Wendover Bombing and Gunnery range was opened and over the next few years it grew substantially larger as additional companies of troops were sent to the region for training.

  In 1944, Wendover was selected to be the training ground for the 509th Composite Group, a top-secret contingent of troops that prepared for an atomic bomb mission to Japan. On August 6, 1945, the group’s commander, Colonel Paul Tibbets Jr. piloted the Enola Gay, which dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, which effectively ended the war.

  An impressive stone and bronze monument has been erected adjacent to the Wendover Visitors Center to commemorate the men who worked on this project and as a monument to peace.

  Additionally, the hills around Wendover have been painted with graffiti, much of which was painted during World War II by airmen and soldiers. In some cases, you can still read the numerical insignias of the various troop companies.

  In recent decades, Wendover has become a destination for thrill-seekers and tourists. The Bonneville Salt Flats, located a few miles from Wendover, has hosted a number of land speed record attempts over the years.

  Additionally, several large resort-casinos were constructed in West Wendover (the Nevada side of the settlement) in the 1980s, which helped transform the town from sleepy last-stop-before-you-leave-Nevada into a popular gaming destination for travelers on Interstate 80.

  One of Wendover’s most recognizable landmarks is Wendover Will, a 64-foot-tall, neon cowboy sign erected adjacent to the Stateline Casino in 1952. In 2005, the big buckaroo was renovated and moved to a new location near the Wendover Visitors Center to serve as the community’s official goodwill ambassador.

  In addition to the hotels, Wendover still has a handful of landmarks that recall its time as an important airbase during World War II. Southeast of the main section of the town is the Wendover airbase. You can still find some of the old hangers that housed the airplanes of the 509th Composite Group during the war.

  Some of the buildings have appeared in several motion pictures including the 1996 science fiction thriller “Independence Day."

  For more information about Wendover, contact the West Wendover Tourism and Convention Bureau, https://www.westwendovercity.com/services/tourism-convention-bureau.

Take a Stroll Through the Las Vegas High School Historic District

 

   While it’s true that Las Vegas doesn’t always show an appreciation for its history, there is a cool walking tour brochure, downloadable online, that spotlights one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods.

   The area, known as the Las Vegas High School Historic District, includes the community’s oldest standing high school, Las Vegas High School, as well as several dozen historic homes built between 1928 and the start of World War II in the neighborhood around the school.

   The district, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1990, is roughly bounded by Sixth Street, Clark Avenue, Ninth Street and Gass Avenue.

   Of course, the heart of the district are the Las Vegas High School and Gymnasium, a pair of Art Deco gems built in 1930-31 and designed by noted Reno architects George A. Ferris & Son.

   Ferris and his son, Lehman Ferris, utilized a blend of Art Deco and southwestern motifs in the buildings’ ornamentation. This style has been described as “Aztec Moderne.”

   Interestingly, the two structures at 315 South 7th, were originally thought by many locals to be too large and too far out of town. But two years after its construction the school was filled to capacity because of the influx of children of the workers building Hoover Dam.

   While no longer used as a regular high school, the building are now part of the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies and Performing Arts, a magnet school for specialized studies.

   Following the walking tour, other noteworthy stops along the way include:

   • 408 South 7th is a marvelous example of Spanish Revival architecture. This single-family home was built by developer R. B. Griffith, who developed the Mt. Charleston area and Rancho Circle, who sold it to Charles “Pop” Squires, a pioneering newspaper publisher who is often called “the Father of Las Vegas” because of his promotional moxie.

   • 500 South 7th is a home built in the French Eclectic-style in 1938. It was owned by divorce attorney and Justice of the Peace C.D. Breeze, whose clients included Mrs. Leopold Stokowski (for her divorce action against the famous conductor) and G. Henry Stetson (whose father invented the famous cowboy hat of that name).

   • 624 South 6th is an unusual Spanish Revival-style house, with a round turret, built in 1932 by prominent Las Vegas dentist and civic leader J.D. Smith. The home boasts a basement, which is a feature that is nearly unknown in the Las Vegas area.

   •618 South 7th is a Mission Revival-style house that was built in 1930 for Harry Allen, a pioneer Las Vegas businessman. Allen was a banker and later president of Nevada Power. He lived in the house until the 1950s.

   • 850 Bonneville is a Tudor Bungalow built in 1931. The home was originally owned by a teacher, Florence Burwell, until she married in the 1940s and sold it to Lewis Rowe. The elegant home was originally located on a lot at 602 South 9th and has been extensively remodeled.

   • 704 South 9th is a Spanish Colonial Revival-style home constructed in 1930. Built at a cost of $10,000, it was owned by District Judge A.S. Henderson, who also had served as a Nevada Assemblyman, a State Senator, and as Las Vegas City Attorney.

   To download the walking tour brochure, go to: https://files.lasvegasnevada.gov/planning/LV-High-School-Historic-District.pdf.

The Strange and Unusual Death of Raymond Spilsbury, Owner of the Boulder Dam Hotel

 

  Maybe it’s fated that a place like Boulder City, which has always seemed so typically American with its manicured lawns, tidy houses and neat street grids, would be associated with one of Nevada’s most mysterious deaths.

  The death in question is that of Raymond Spilsbury, one of the original investors and owners of the Boulder Dam Hotel. Spilsbury, who was born into a wealthy Utah ranching family, had spent several decades working in Peru as general manager of a copper mine.

  In 1933, he became an investor in a new Boulder Dam Hotel being constructed in Boulder City. During the next decade, despite becoming a playground for Hollywood celebrities, the hotel experienced financial difficulties. In 1942, Spilsbury acquired full ownership of the property.

  Two years later, Spilsbury retired from the mining business and moved into the hotel with his wife and son. At the time, his brother, G.C. Spilsbury was manager of the elegant Colonial-style lodging house.

  During the 1930s and 40s, the hotel had hosted many famous people. Actress Bette Davis vacationed at the hotel after filming a movie nearby and actor Boris Karloff (“Frankenstein”) lived there while gaining residency for a quickie divorce.

  On January 19, 1945, the then-56-year-old Spilsbury drove out to Emery’s Landing, a fishing camp on the Colorado River to go fishing with its owner, Murl Emery. According to newspaper accounts of the time, Spilsbury never met up with Emery but was seen taking a walk along the river.

  The next day, Emery saw that Spilsbury’s car still parked in the lot at 3 a.m. and the next morning started to look for the owner. According to one account, Emery discovered Spilsbury’s hat and coat about a day later. The latter had been carefully folded and a rock had been placed on both to keep them from being blown away.

  Inside the coat pockets, was a check for $12,352.40, $1,100 in traveler’s checks, $53 in cash, two pairs of glasses and keys to the car and Spilsbury’s hotel room.

  For the next five weeks, searchers combed the river and surrounding area looking for any sign of Spilsbury. Finally on February 27, a group of three fishermen from Los Angeles spotted his body tangled in a clump of bushes about eight miles from Emery’s Landing, near Nelson, Nevada.

  Perhaps the most peculiar aspect, however, was that when Spilsbury’s body was pulled from the river, authorities found that his ankles had been tied together using his own belt and his pockets were filled with heavy stones.

  A few days later, authorities said they believed Spilsbury, who, according to his brother, had been in ill health for several years, was depressed about his health and committed suicide.

  But was it suicide? According to one account, Spilsbury’s wife, Vona, was suspicious of the circumstances surrounding her husband’s death and never completely accepted the determination that her husband had killed himself.

  Ultimately, no other motive—certainly he wasn’t robbed—than suicide could be found and the case was closed.

  But even today some believe there is more to the story. In fact, one theory is that Spilsbury—and perhaps Emery—may have hidden caches of money in the vicinity. But who knows for sure?

  The most complete history of the Boulder Dam Hotel, including Spilsbury mysterious death, can be found in Dennis McBride’s 1993 book, “The Secret Life of the Boulder Dam Hotel.” The story is also investigated in my book, “Nevada Myths and Legends, Second Edition.” Both can be found on Amazon and other online booksellers.

  For more information about the Boulder Dam Hotel, go to: www.boulderdamhotel.com.

Everything You Might Ever Want to Know About Sparks Can Be Found at the Sparks Museum & Cultural Center

 

   Often overshadowed by its sister-city, Reno, the city of Sparks has its own rich and fascinating history. That story, in fact, is well told in the Sparks Museum & Cultural Center (formerly known as the Sparks Heritage Museum), located in the community’s downtown core.

   The museum is housed in the historic former Sparks branch of the Washoe County Library and the Sparks Justice Court. The two-story brick structure with the red-tile roof was built in 1931 and designed by noted Nevada architect Frederic J. DeLongchamps. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

   Originally, the Washoe County Library was housed on the upper floor, while the Justice Court was in the lower part of the building. The library relocated to Oddie Boulevard in 1965 and the Justice Court, which had taken over the entire building after the library departed, moved out of the building in the mid-1990s.

   The historic structure, which reflects the Mediterranean Revival style of architecture, became the home of the Sparks Museum several years later.

   The museum, which now encompasses the entire building, offers a large collection of permanent and changing galleries that tell the community’s story.

   While the city was formally incorporated on March 15, 1905, its roots began a few years earlier when the Southern Pacific Railway Company decided to shorten and straighten its main line across Northern Nevada.

  The railroad rerouted its tracks along the eastern Truckee River corridor to eliminate several dangerous curves and grades.

  In about 1903, the railroad announced that as part of this realignment it would relocate its main division point in the region from Wadsworth to a site about four miles east of Reno. It originally looked at Reno for its new shops, but went east because of cheaper land.

  To entice its workers to move to the new site, the railroad made a generous offer—a tract of land would be set aside adjacent to a new roundhouse and the railroad would give each employee clear title to a 50-foot by 140-foot lot. Additionally, the railroad offered to transport any existing house in Wadsworth to the new community at no charge.

  Records show that in the summer of 1903, a drawing was conducted with employee names in one hat and lot number in another, and each was randomly awarded their lot. Some 67 lots changed title that day at a price of $1 per lot.

  The new town was called “East Reno” for a short time, then “Harriman,” after E.H. Harriman, owner of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Finally, in April 1904, Harriman decided to name the community in honor of Nevada’s popular Governor, “Honest” John Sparks.

  Over the past century, the railroad has become a less important part of the town’s economy but has remained an important symbol of the past. The Sparks High School athletic teams are called the “Railroaders” and the downtown’s “Victorian Square” development theme evokes the architecture and style of an earlier rail era.

  The importance of railroading to the development of Sparks can be seen in many of the displays in the museum. For example, dozens of historic photographs depict the railroad buildings and equipment used at the Sparks rail yard.

  In one room, you can find an original oak desk once used by the railroad, and still covered with the paperwork. Cabinets display uniforms, steam whistles, dining car trays, and an extensive collection of railroad lanterns.

  Other exhibits spotlight the Lincoln Highway, which passed through Sparks in the early 20th century, as well as the Nugget Casino, long a Sparks institution.

  Other displays contain handmade quilts, a vintage piano, talking and recording machines, radios, refrigerators and clothing from the late 19th and early 20th century. Against one wall, you can even find a switchboard like that used by the old Sparks Telephone Company. The facility also has an extensive research library, with helpful librarians.

  The Sparks Museum and Cultural Center is located at 820 Victorian Avenue. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (the research library is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.).

  For more information go to: https://sparksmuseum.org/.

Getting Away From It All At Sparks' Wedekind Hills Regional Park

 

   It’s easy to find solitude in the Wedekind Hills Regional Park in north Sparks.

   The 250-acre site, located adjacent to the Pyramid Highway, off Disc Drive, encompasses a portion of a once-active silver and gold mining area known as the Wedekind Mining District.

   While little evidence remains of that mining period, beside a few dirt mounds, the story of the district and its mines is a fascinating and lesser-known part of Washoe County’s past.

   The mines were developed in about 1896 by George Wedekind, a Prussian emigrant who had come to America to make his fortune. Wedekind, who was a piano tuner by trade, apparently plied his skills in New York and San Francisco before moving in 1880 to White Pine County, Nevada to raise cattle.

   By the late 1880s, he was living in Virginia City, working as a piano tuner and prospecting on the side.

   In 1895, Wedekind and his wife, Helena (they had married in 1856), relocated to the Truckee Meadows, where he maintained his piano tuning and repair business, while also continuing his prospecting expeditions.

   “During his leisure time while living in Reno he could be seen driving an old horse through the country on his prospecting trips,” noted the Nevada Historical Society (NHS) Papers, 1925-1926.

   “One day [in June 1896] while eating his lunch he casually kicked over a small rock which appeared a bit unlike others which lay about,” the report continued. “Upon closer examination he was convinced that it contained ore.”

   He had the rock assayed and it came back as being rich in silver ore. According to the NHS Papers, he then began the process of sinking a shaft on the site, which was about two miles north of what would become the city of Sparks, and removed ore that proved to be worth about $10,000.

   Words soon spread about Wedekind’s mineral strike in the hills that now bear his name and a small mining camp soon popped up, which was called Wedekind City. Within two years of the discovery, the camp had close to 30 structures including a half-dozen wood frame buildings, clusters of tents, a boarding house, post office, miners’ hall, general store, machine shop, assay office, and a 147 by 155-foot mill.

   The Nevada Daily Journal reported on September 10, 1902 that a telephone line from Reno had been strung and the streets and principal buildings were “lighted by electricity.” Additionally, “an electric railway from Reno is not improbably within the coming year.”

   In 1901, prospects for Wedekind City and the mining district were so promising that Wedekind, who lacked the capital to properly work the mine, decided to sell out to wealthy cattleman John Sparks.

   The latter, who would be elected governor of Nevada in November 1902, had sold his cattle holdings in 1901 after a series of financial setbacks, believed the Wedekind district would be his ticket to new wealth. He paid Wedekind about $150,000 (about $5.5 million in today’s dollars) for the property.

   Sparks invested significant resources to developing the district, including timbering the mine shafts, installing a steam hoist works, and hiring about 40 workers to operate the mill. Unfortunately for him, the Wedekind mines proved to be played out.

   Despite his successful run for governor (and reelection in 1906), Sparks was nearly bankrupted by the lack of success with the Wedekind district. When he died unexpected in 1908 at the age of 64, he had accumulated an enormous amount of debt. Despite that, he was extremely popular and the town of Sparks was named in his honor during his term as governor.

   As for Wedekind, he had great success in Reno real estate development (using the money he made from his mining property). He died in 1905, following an automobile accident.

   Visiting the site of all this activity, Wedekind Park, you’ll discover an open, nearly treeless landscape (wear a hat and sun protection on hot days) that offers several hiking trails (ideal for walking dogs off-leash). Trails lead to the top of the park’s two peaks, which have observation areas providing great views of the Truckee Meadows.

   The park has two trailheads, one off Disc Drive, and one off Fourth Street. Near the latter, which is adjacent to the Orr Ditch, you will find running water (in the ditch), a shaded area with picnic tables, a pavilion, and an amphitheater for presentations.

   Wandering the trails, it’s not uncommon to see dozens of lizards scampering over the rocks, and, overhead, circling eagles and hawks. The park is also home to marmots and the occasional coyote. But not too many people.

   For more information, go to: www.cityofsparks.us/business_detail_T71_R53.php.

Common Myths About Sin City

 

Last Frontier, 1945

   Everyone thinks they know Las Vegas. But over the years, the city has been the subject of many myths—some created by the city’s own publicists. The following are just a few of the more common misconceptions or downright falsehoods that have been spread over the years about the city:

   • Las Vegas was founded by the Mob—Anyone who has watched any gangster movie or TV crime show about Las Vegas, might get the impression this is a fact. The reality, however, is that Las Vegas was founded by Mormon missionaries.

   Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established Sin City. In 1855, Mormon leader Brigham Young sent 30 men to establish a small fort and settlement in the Las Vegas Valley. Due to its isolated location and hot, dry climate, the colony struggled for two years before it was finally abandoned.

   A few years later, the fort became a ranch and trading post, which eventually grew into the city of Las Vegas. The fort, now a state park, is located just north of downtown on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and East Washington Avenue.

   • Bugsy Siegel created the Las Vegas Strip—If you watch the 1992 film Bugsy, starring Warren Beatty, you saw Las Vegas portrayed as a backwater town that owed its existence to gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel.

   In the movie Siegel, in Vegas to check on mob interests, pulls off the highway, walks into a desolate patch of sagebrush and sand, and announces that he will build a hotel there. 

   The reality is that the first resort built on the Las Vegas Strip was El Rancho Vegas, which opened in 1941, followed by the Last Frontier a year later. Siegel’s Flamingo Hotel did not open until New Year’s Eve 1946. Siegel wasn’t even the father of the Flamingo—Los Angeles publisher and restaurateur Billy Wilkerson was the original owner. Wilkerson, however, ran out of money and partnered with Siegel and his mob pals to complete the hotel (although he was quickly squeezed out of the picture).

   Siegel also is not responsible for naming the Las Vegas Strip. That honor goes to Guy McAfee, a Las Vegas casino owner and former corrupt vice-squad captain with the Los Angeles police. In the 1940s, McAfee named Las Vegas Boulevard “the Strip” because it reminded him of Los Angeles’ famed Sunset Strip.

   • Elvis was always a big star in Las Vegas—It turns out that Elvis Presley was a flop in his first Las Vegas appearance, at the New Frontier showroom, in April 1956. His fans, largely teen girls, were too young to get into the casino to see the show, and the gambling crowd didn’t much care for rock-n-roll and thought he was too loud.

   However, when Elvis returned 13 years later, he began a long string of sold-out shows.

   • Big-name hotel entertainment was invented in Las Vegas—While Las Vegas resorts no doubt made popular the casino showroom and lounge, the first big-name entertainer to play a Nevada hotel was bandleader Ted Lewis, who performed with his orchestra at the Commercial Hotel in Elko on April 26, 1941.

   The first big-name entertainer to appear in Las Vegas is believed to have been singer Sophie Tucker, who performed at the Last Frontier in January 1944. The first star-studded entertainment event in Las Vegas history was the grand opening of the Flamingo in 1946, which featured George Jessel, Jimmy Durante, Baby Rose Marie, Eddie Jackson, and Xavier Cugat’s orchestra. Their appearance sparked competition between the city’s resorts, which continues to this day.

   • Las Vegas is the hottest spot in Nevada—It may seem that way sometimes, but the place with the hottest recorded temperature in the state is Laughlin, which reached a scorching 125 degrees on June 29, 1994. The hottest recorded temperature in Las Vegas was 117 degrees, which has happened several times including on July 10, 2023, July 10, 2021, and July 24, 1942.

Nevada Researcher Joyce M. Cox's Last Book Tells How Reno Put Itself on the Map

 

   Reno author Joyce M. Cox, who died in May at the age of 75, was once described as “a human version of Google decades before the internet existed.”

   Her agility in finding and recalling information was much appreciated by all who came in contact with her during her many years as a research librarian in California, Washington, and Nevada.

   That special ability is what also makes her last book, “Behind the Arch: The Story of Reno, Nevada’s Unique Chamber of Commerce and the Making of ‘The Biggest Little City in the World’” such a treat.

   Cox, who retired in 2009 after serving as the head reference librarian at the Nevada State Library and Archives, has taken a deep dive into the story of how the city of Reno has successfully marketed and publicized itself over the decades.

   The book, published by Eric Moody’s Nevada in the West Publishing of Reno earlier this year, begins with a short chapter describing how the then-fledgling community of Reno took its first steps to market itself by forming various promotional committees that eventually evolved into the first Reno Chamber of Commerce.

   Cox tells the background behind the creation of the city’s famous slogan, “Reno: The Biggest Little City in the World,” and the way the community utilized promotional booklets and magazine articles to spread the word about the community and its many attributes.

   Along the way, readers discover the various themes used in the city’s promotions, including its quality of life and recreational assets (“Reno Land of Charm”) as well as the tax advantages of living in Nevada (“One Sound State”). 

   Later chapters are devoted to the plethora of gambling-related promotional efforts, both private and public. These ranged from the iconic “Harolds Club or Bust!” signs to the Reno Chamber’s “In Reno It’s Fun Time All the Time,” promotions of the mid-1960s.

   The book is lavishly illustrated with historic photos and images of various promotional campaigns including posters, pamphlets, maps and brochures.

   Of course, part of the fun in reading the book is seeing how Reno’s promotional efforts evolved over time. In the beginning, the aim was largely focused on encouraging people from out of state to visit Reno to see that the city wasn’t some remote uncivilized community.

   Later, the efforts pass through a phase of promoting the city as a tax haven, then as the “quickie” divorce capital, and then as a skiing, special event, rodeo hub. In the 1960s, Reno’s promotors wrapped its identity around the gaming industry and then, starting in the late 1970s, pushed economic diversification.

   Cox’s book, in fact, proves to be more than just simply an account of the city’s promotional campaigns through the decades, but also is a good, solid history of the city’s evolution as a community.

   Copies of Joyce M. Cox’s book, “Behind the Arch: The Story of Reno, Nevada’s Unique Chamber of Commerce and the Making of ‘The Biggest Little City in the World,’” are available at the Nevada Historic Society gift shop at 1650 North Virginia Street, Reno.

Reno's Turn of the Century Scandal: the Sad Story of Alice Hartley

 

Murray D. Foley

  In late July 1894, Reno citizens were shocked when the local newspapers reported that a married Nevada State Senator and prominent banker, Murray D. Foley, had been shot to death by a woman who was not his wife, in her studio apartment.

  Beneath an understated headline that simply said, “An Awful Tragedy,” the July 27, 1894 edition of the Reno Evening Gazette wrote, “Shortly after the Gazette’s press hour last evening the town was startled by a report that State Senator MD Foley had been shot and mortally wounded, and was in the Drs. Phillips’ office, on the second floor of the Bank of Nevada building, in a dying condition.”

  The story noted that a Gazette reporter had learned of the shooting and gone to the scene of the crime only to find a big crowd standing in front of the bank building and little information. However, after hearing someone in the crowd say that a “Mrs. Hartley” had shot the Senator, he went to her third-floor apartment in the building, where she was standing with Sheriff William H. Caughlin.

  “The Gazette man asked Mrs. Hartley if she desired to talk with the reporter, or if she desired to wait until after she had overcome some of her excitement,” the paper said. “Mrs. Hartley replied ‘Oh, I am not excited. I have thought over this too much to get excited now. I have shot Senator Foley and hope he will die. He has ruined my life, and I am willing to stand the consequences. I only regret not having done it publicly.’”

  She added that the shooting had occurred in that room and that the sheriff now had the murder weapon. At that point, Sheriff Caughlin took the 38-caliber pistol from his pocket and showed the reporter that two shots had been fired.

  So, who were Senator MD Foley and Mrs. Alice Hartley? According to records, Foley was born in 1849 in New Brunswick, Canada. At the age of 19, he traveled to the mining camp of Hamilton, Nevada, to seek his fortune. There, he prospected and worked for a stage company.

  A year later, he relocated to Eureka, where he embarked on a successful career in real estate while continuing to be involved in mining. By the mid-1880s, he was a partner in thriving hardware stores in Eureka and Salt Lake City and then, in 1885, began investing in a Eureka bank. Within two years, he became president of the bank.

  In 1887, he helped establish the Bank of Nevada in Reno, and starting in 1882, was elected to several terms as a state senator from Eureka. In 1890, he relocated to Reno to serve as the Bank of Nevada’s president and was elected a Washoe County state senator.

  In 1883, he had married Minnie Griffen, a member of a pioneer Nevada family.

  As for Hartley, she was born in England in 1864 and apparently studied art. She traveled to Northern California sometime in the mid-1880s, where she met and married a prospector named Henry Hartley.

  The marriage was short-lived, with Alice Hartley separating from her husband in about 1890 (he returned to his mining in Meadow Lake and she relocated to Virginia City to paint portraits for money).

  Henry Hartley, who was considerably older than his wife, died unexpectedly in November 1891. Upon his death, Alice Hartley discovered that, contrary to what she believed, he had few assets and was virtually penniless.

  In September 1893, Alice Hartley had rented a studio in the Bank of Nevada’s new building in Reno and began offering art lessons and painting portraits. Shortly after, she was introduced to Senator Foley, who was immediately taken with her.

  According to Lake Tahoe historian Mark McLaughlin, Foley offered to help Hartley dispose of her late husband’s mining claims. On January 13, 1894, Foley showed up at her studio unannounced and insisted she join him for a late dinner.

  Hartley said she refused but agreed to share a drink with him. She claimed the Senator drugged her and she woke up the next day in bed with him.

  From that point, Hartley said she refused to see Foley again and even changed her locks. However, on February 26, she came home and found him inside her studio. She said he forced himself on her before leaving.

  At that point, she purchased a pistol and told the Senator she would shoot him if he ever came near her again.

  In late March, Hartley discovered she was pregnant and informed Foley. He demanded she get an abortion but Hartley wanted to have the child and move to Utah. She hired an attorney to draw up legal papers establishing Foley’s financial responsibility, which he said he would sign.

  On the evening of July 27, Foley admitted to Hartley that the legal papers had never been filed and the two began to argue. According to McLaughlin, Foley then picked up a heavy chair and swung it at Hartley, who grabbed her pistol and fired two shots at him, killing him.

  Services for Foley were held at Reno’s Trinity Episcopal Church and attracted a large crowd that included Governor R.K. Colcord and a host of other state and local officials. His casket was escorted to its final resting place by a full military escort.

  The trial lasted a few days and in spite of newspaper reports about Foley’s womanizing behavior, Hartley was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 11 years in the Nevada State Prison. She gave birth to a son two months later (in prison) and, after serving only 18 months of her sentence, the Nevada Supreme Court granted her request for a pardon.

  Sadly, seven weeks later her son, named Vernon Harrison Hartley, died in Reno of scarlet fever. She had earlier sought money from Foley’s estate to support the child, but, following his death, she lost her claim.

  Records indicate that after that, the distraught Hartley moved to San Francisco and, in 1899, remarried. She later appeared to suffer a nervous breakdown and died in Denver in 1908.

  It was a quiet and sad end to a tumultuous life.

Historic Bethel AME Church Has Deep Ties to Reno's African American Community

Reno's Bethel AME Church (Julia Moreno photo)

  The Bethel AME Church at 220 Bell Street in Reno has seen its fair share of changes. Built in 1910, it was the city’s first church for its black residents and played a key role in organizing Civil Rights efforts in Northern Nevada in the mid-20th century.

  The church was constructed by members of the African Methodist Episcopalian congregation, which had been established in Reno in 1907

   At the time, Reno was not only the state’s largest and most prosperous community, but home of the state’s largest black population, estimated to be about 225 people.

  To oversee construction of the church, the California Conference of the AME Church sent Reverend William Solley. In his report to the conference, Solley said a temporary wood-frame structure would be erected first so services could begin immediately. At the same time, work would begin on the permanent church.

  On May 29, 1910, the new church was formally dedicated. It was a small, rectangular, gable-roofed, clapboard structure. The most prominent feature of the new church was its four, Gothic-pointed-arch stained-glass windows.

  The church soon became the center of Reno’s African American community, particularly because AME teachings promoted the idea that individuals should improve their place in society by making positive contributions to their community.

  According to its 2001 nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places, church members “were active in community activities that sought to promote equality for blacks through example of good citizenship.”

  This perhaps was best illustrated by the role church members played in establishing the first Nevada chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1919.

  In 1941, the congregation had outgrown the small church and efforts were made to find a larger facility. After identifying a potential new home in northwest Reno (in Dania Hall at Seventh and Sierra streets), the congregation encountered racist objections from surrounding neighbors, who claimed a black church would lower their property values.

  Ultimately, the purchase of the Dania Hall was abandoned and the congregation, instead, decided to enlarge and remodel the Bell Street church. This new construction (built around the original church) included adding a basement with a kitchen and dining room, addition of three rooms for Sunday School instruction and an exterior brick veneer.

  In the 1950s and 60s, Bethel AME Church served as a safe space/gathering spot for local Civil Rights leaders seeking to end the discriminatory practices, especially regarding housing, employment, and even shopping at white-owned businesses, that were, unfortunately, then common in Reno.

  In the nomination form for the National Register, the church was cited for being the longtime home of the “longest operating black congregation in Nevada” and for its role as “one of Nevada’s most significant buildings associated with the history of its black population.”

  The congregation continued to use the enlarged church until 1993, when it acquired a building at 2655 Rock Boulevard in Sparks. The old church building was sold and converted into a homeless shelter for veterans. More recently, it has again served as a church, the Reno Assembly of God.

  In early 2024, Jacobs Entertainment, which is redeveloping much of that area into an entertainment district, requested abandonment of the right-of-way in front of the church. The church’s leadership, fearful that the move might ultimately lead to the demolition of the church, opposed the abandonment. The matter has been postponed for the time being by city officials and Jacobs.

  In the meantime, if you find yourself driving down West 5th Street and turn onto Bell Street (just past Beto’s Taqueria), check out the little church, which is the oldest surviving African American church in the state of Nevada.

  For more information, go to the excellent Reno Historical website, https://renohistorical.org/items/show/43, or read the cover story in the Historic Reno Preservation Society’s Winter 2005 newsletter, Footprints, https://www.historicreno.org/media/custom/docs/FPv8n1.pdf.

UNR Campus is Filled with Surprises

  With its tree-lined Quad and ivy-covered brick buildings, the University of Nevada Reno campus looks just like what most people would imagine a college should look like.

  In fact, in the 1940s moviemakers thought UNR was such a picture-perfect college campus that it was the setting for several films including, “Mr. Belvedere Goes to College,” and “Mother Is a Freshman.”

  Much of the credit for UNR’s classic college environment goes to the heirs of Comstock silver baron John Mackay. In the early part of the 20th century, the Mackay family donated more than $1.5 million to establish the Mackay School of Mining as well as to develop the Quad and many other campus buildings.

  Noted 19th century New York architect Stanford White’s firm designed both the Quad (short for quadrangle, which is the large rectangular open area in the center of the campus) and the Mackey School of Mines Building. White was also responsible for the design of the original Madison Square Garden in New York.

  The firm based the plan for the elm-lined Quad on Thomas Jefferson’s design of the University of Virginia Lawn, which is also an open expanse of grass lined with trees that serves as the heart of that university.

  Most of UNR’s most historic and picturesque buildings surround the Quad. In fact, that part of the campus has been designated as a National Historic District.

  For example, at the north end is the Mackay School of Mines Building, erected in 1908, and commissioned by Clarence Mackay, John’s son.

  The mining school is a beautiful two-story, brick and stone structure with Georgian details that boasts four 28-foot Tuscan-style columns of Indiana limestone.

  The building houses the DeLaMare Library, one of the world’s largest collections of mining books as well as the W.M. Keck Museum, which has more than 6,000 mineral samples and fossils along with historic mining tools and equipment.

  Additionally, it is also the home of the Mary B. Ansari Map Library, which contains some 136,000 maps, and a pair of public exhibition rooms displaying an old-time mining engineer’s office and pieces from the fabulous Mackay Silver Collection.

  The latter was designed in 1876 by the famed Tiffany’s jewelers of New York. The full collection includes 1,350 pieces crafted by 200 silversmiths over a two-year period, using 14,718 ounces of Comstock silver.

  In front of the school is a bronze statue of John Mackay that is noteworthy because it was created by sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who later carved the presidential faces into Mount Rushmore (from 1927 to 1941).

  At the other end of the Quad is Morrill Hall, the first building erected on the Reno campus after the state relocated the university to Reno from Elko.

  Constructed in 1885, the structure is named for U.S. Senator Justin S. Morrill of Vermont, who authored the 1862 Land-Grant College Act, which led to the development of the University of Nevada and other colleges throughout the country.

  Morrill Hall is a four-story brick building in the Second Empire architectural style. It originally housed the entire university offices and classrooms. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

  Other historically significant buildings on the UNR campus include:

  •Lincoln Hall and Manzanita Hall (both built in 1896), which both served as student dormitories for more than a century. Lincoln Hall was constructed in a late 19th century architectural style known as Eclectic, which incorporated several popular styles of the time including Flemish gables, a Colonial Revival cupola, and Neo-Romanesque arches.

  •Jones Visitors Center (1914), which was the university’s first library. It was designed by renowned Reno architect Frederic DeLongchamps, who was also responsible for the design of the downtown Reno post office and the Washoe County Courthouse.

  •Clark Administration Building (1927), which served as the university’s library from 1927 to 1962. The building is named after Alice McManus Clark, wife of William A. Clark, Jr., whose father was a U.S. Senator from Montana and namesake for Clark County, Nevada. Senator Clark was a wealthy 19th century mining and railroad magnate, who established the city of Las Vegas in 1905.

  •Mackay Science Hall (1930), a Georgian-style building that was also designed by DeLongchamps. The brick and stone-pillared structure represented the final gift to the university from Clarence Mackay.

  For more information about the campus’ historic buildings, check out https://renohistorical.org/tours/show/6.

It's Always Story-Time at Reno's Nevada Historical Society

 

  The Nevada Historical Society in Reno is a place for stories.

  Filled with hundreds of historical artifacts, the society’s facility is devoted to telling the story of the Silver State.

  For example, the society’s impressive collection of prehistoric Native American baskets and other items speaks volumes about the art and craftsmanship of the state’s native people.

  Many of the baskets in display are the work of legendary Washo artist, Dat-so-la-lee, who, in the 19th century, created dozens of magnificent grass baskets with intricate weaves and designs. Because of their quality, some Dat-so-la-lee baskets have been valued at tens of thousands of dollars.

  And then there is the old, stained sack of flour sitting in a display case. The 50-pound sack was originally owned by Reuel Gridley, an Austin, Nevada shop owner. In 1864, Gridley lost an election bet and had to carry it from one end of Austin to the other.

  Following his walk, he auctioned the sack with the proceeds donated to the Sanitary Fund (precursor to the Red Cross). The sack was resold several times that day, ultimately generating some $5,000 for charity.

  Gridley was later asked to repeat the auction in other Western towns and eventually raised nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars for the Sanitary Fund.

  Located at the northern end of the University of Nevada, Reno campus, the Nevada Historical Society is the state’s oldest museum (it was founded in 1904). Over the years, the society has accumulated an unequaled collection of historic books, writings, photographs and other items about the state.

  The Historical Society combines a photo and manuscript library with a small Nevada history museum.

  One of the museum’s permanent exhibits, called “Nevada: Prisms & Perspectives,” is divided into five categories that each tell part of the state’s story.

  For instance, “Land of the Living” is devoted to describing the region’s pre-historic and native people. In addition to the large collection of baskets, it includes a replica of an Indian habitat made from local plants.

  “Riches from the Earth” tells the area’s mining history, particularly in nearby Virginia City, while “Passing Through” addresses western Nevada’s relationship with the 19th century emigrants heading to California and the building of the transcontinental railroad.

  The last two sections of the room, called “Neon Nights” and “Federal Presence,” focus on more recent history including the legalization of gambling, Reno’s once-thriving divorce trade and the impact of the federal government on the state’s development.

  In all of the exhibits, the museum displays a number of fascinating historic artifacts that help to illustrate the narrative such as vintage gambling devices including strange, mechanical card devices, wooden slot machines, and a big wheel with pictures of dice. All were once used in local gambling houses.

  There are also antique bicycles with wooden wheels and the most uncomfortable-looking wooden seats, a large neon sign from an old Reno bar (“The Phone Booth”) as well as maps, photos and paintings depicting early Nevada, vintage clothing, and beautiful leather saddles and boots.

  In addition to the regular displays, the museum has a changing exhibit gallery as well as a well-stocked gift store, which offers Native American jewelry, unique history-related gift items and a large selection of books on Nevada.

  The Historic Society also publishes an excellent quarterly magazine containing scholarly articles about Nevada history.

  The Nevada Historical Society’s museum and store are open Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Its research library is open Thursday through Saturday, 12 noon to 4 p.m.

  The society is located at 1650 North Virginia Street in Reno. Admission is $6 for adults, with children under 17 free. For more information call 775-688-1191 or go to https://www.nvhistoricalsociety.org/.

Bahsahwahbee Could Become Nevada's Next National Monument

 

 It was nearly 40 years ago when I first heard about eastern Nevada’s Bahsahwahbee, or “Sacred Water Valley,” which is home to a rare stand of Rocky Mountain junipers (also called swamp cedars).

   An Ely friend said the Spring Valley location was special to the native Western Shoshone and Goshute people and a natural marvel because swamp cedars typically aren’t found in the middle of a high desert valley.

   Yet, there they were. Even from a distance, I could see a small forest of tall green trees (some of which are 30 to 40 feet tall) that were clearly something unusual.

   Flash forward to a few decades ago, and a coalition of tribal officials and White Pine county folks began talking about the best way to preserve the area and the trees. Part of the impetus was the push by Clark County, Nevada water officials to claim water rights in eastern Nevada and begin pumping water from underground sources to Las Vegas.

   Such pumping would have a disastrous impact on wetlands in eastern Nevada, such as Bahsahwahbee.

   Tribal officials also point out the cultural importance of the valley. According to an April 2024 story in High Country News, the Western Shoshone and Goshute people believe there are healing properties in the water of Bahsahwahbee, which, historically, has been a place for dances and religious ceremonies.

   Additionally, the valley has been the site of three massacres, in 1859, 1863 and 1897, during which more than 1,000 native people, cumulatively, are believed to have been killed by U.S. military forces and vigilante groups.

   In 2017, the National Register of Historic Places listed the grove of trees as a traditional cultural property.

   More recently, however, those seeking to preserve Bahsahwahbee have proposed giving the area a national monument designation, which would provide more protections.

   In 2021, the Nevada Legislature passed a resolution urging Congress and the President to protect the land containing the swamp cedars. In 2023, Nevada’s two U.S. senators urged the U.S. Department of Interior to support creating the Bahsahwahbee National Monument.

   While the total acreage of such a monument is still to be decided should it become a reality, the arguments for its creation are strong.

   The valley has a unique ecology, containing more than 100 natural springs. The wetlands are created because water is apparently trapped in the soil by a layer of clay. This shallow but moist ground is what makes the swamp cedars able to take root at such an elevation (usually they grow on dry, rocky mountainsides).

   Archaeologists have uncovered artifacts dating back as much as 10,000 years, showing the native people long have lived in the area.

   In the mid-19th century, with westward expansion in full bloom, conflicts between settlers heading to California (or remaining in Nevada) and native people became more frequent.

   The first Spring Valley Massacre occurred in 1859, when U.S. cavalry tracked down a band of native warriors that allegedly attacked an emigrant wagon train to the north, killing several people. The troops encountered a large encampment of native people at Devil’s Gate Canyon, about 30 miles northeast of the grove, killing about 20 of them.

   A second massacre in the valley in 1863, triggered again by tensions between white settlers and native people, resulted in the death of 23 natives. The final massacre, in 1897, was perhaps the most notorious as a vigilante group, stirred up by false reports of an Indian uprising, murdered hundreds of native women, children and elders gathered in the valley for a harvest festival (the men were away hunting).

   Tribal leaders have said it is their hope that a national monument would not only protect the physical qualities of the grove area but commemorate the tragic events of the past.

   For more information or to sign a petition supporting the creation of the Bahsahwahbee National Monument, go to: https://www.swampcedars.org/.

Largely-Forgotten, Nevada-Born Actors in the Early 20th Century

Edna Purviance

  Despite being one of the smallest and least populated states in the union during the late 19th and early to mid 20th centuries, Nevada produced several actors and actresses who experienced some kind of noteworthy fame and success in their time.

  Among the most prominent was probably actress Edna Purviance (born in Paradise Valley, Nevada in 1895), who was a co-star in a number of Charlie Chaplin’s early films. At the age of three, Purviance and her parents relocated to Lovelock, where they operated a hotel for a few years.

  In 1913, Purviance moved to San Francisco to attend business school. Two years later, she was working as a stenographer when a talent agent suggested her to Chaplin, who was looking for a leading lady for a studio film he was making in Niles, California, which is 28 miles southeast of San Francisco.

  After meeting with Chaplin, she was offered the part in the film, “A Night Out.” The pairing was a success and Purviance went on the appear in 33 of Chaplin’s works, including the iconic 1921 film, “The Kid,” and her last role, “A Woman of Paris,” in 1923.

  Purviance and Chaplin were also romantically involved from about 1915 to 1917, when she broke off the relationship after learning he had gotten married.

  After retiring from movie-making in 1924, Purviance spent the next 30 years living in a small bungalow outside of Hollywood. During those years, she received a small stipend from Chaplin, who was grateful for the role she played at the start of his career.

  Purviance died from throat cancer in the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California in January 1958.

  Another Nevada-born thespian who had success on Broadway and in Hollywood was Hobart Cavanaugh. Born in Virginia City in 1886, Cavanaugh worked in vaudeville for a few years before appearing in several Broadway productions such as the 1919 musical “Irene.”

  Cavanaugh’s first film was “San Francisco Nights” in 1928 and he later appeared in “I Cover the Waterfront” in 1933, “Mary Stevens, M.D.” that same year and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 1935.

  Typically, Cavanaugh was cast in comedic, supporting roles, often as a henpecked husband or a down-on-his-luck character. He eventually appeared in more than 180 films.

  Cavanaugh died of stomach cancer in April 1950.

  Another longtime actor with Nevada roots was Ben Alexander, who was born in Goldfield in 1911. Alexander started out as a child actor in silent movies, then, after briefly retiring, returned to the screen with “All Quiet on the Western Front” in 1930.

  In the late 1940s, Alexander had considerable success as a radio announcer and acting in radio plays. In 1952, he was cast as Jack Webb’s new partner in the “Dragnet” radio show. He continued in the role in film and on television until 1959, when the show went off the air. From 1966 to 1969, he appeared on the television show “Felony Squad.”

  Alexander died of a heart attack in July 1969.

  The final member of the nearly-forgotten film stars with Nevada ties was actress Reno Browne (real name Josephine Ruth Clarke), who was born in Reno in April 1921. Browne, who also went by the stage name Reno Blair, was a trained pilot and active horsewoman and, in 1945, was crowned queen of the Reno Rodeo.

  After taking acting lessons, she was signed to a contract by B-Movie company, Monogram Pictures. Because of her riding experience, Browne soon appeared in a series of Monogram westerns (14 in all), co-starring with popular screen cowboys such as Johnny Mack Brown, Whip Wilson and Jimmy Wakely.

  In 1949, she was the lead in a 13-episode radio program titled, “Reno Rides Again.” Additionally, she was the star of her own four-issue comic book series (called, appropriately, “Reno Browne”) published by Atlas Comics.

  In 1950, she retired from acting and returned to Reno. From 1962 to 1964, she was married to former western movie star Lash LaRue and the two operated a motel in Reno.

  Browne died of cancer in 1991.

Famed 19th and 20th Century Nevadans in the Arts

Singer Emma Nevada

  Despite being one of the smallest and least populated states in the union during the late 19th and early to mid 20th centuries, Nevada produced several figures in the entertainment industry who experienced considerable fame and success in their time.

  While most have been largely forgotten today, each was considered among the best, most accomplished, or respectable in their fields.

  For example, one of the most famous singers in the late 19th century was balladeer Richard Jose, who got his start singing for meals in Virginia City’s saloons.

  Jose, who was born on the Cornish Coast of England but moved to Virginia City when he was nine, was once called “the greatest living ballad singer” by opera star Enrico Caruso. In addition to a successful concert career, Jose was also one of the first performers ever to make a record.

  According to some accounts, Jose was sent to Virginia City to live with an uncle but when he arrived the uncle had moved away and he was left to fend for himself.

  Gifted with a beautiful voice, he soon discovered he could sing for meals in local saloons and eventually became a kind of child celebrity, particularly among Virginia City’s Cornish miners.

  Eventually, Jose moved to Reno to attend school and began working as a blacksmith. His habit of singing while pounding on an anvil came to the attention of a touring minstrel company, which he joined.

  With the group, Jose toured the country and ultimately gained fame as a ballad singer in New York. He had a successful performing career until the 1920s, when the musical styles began to change during the Jazz Age and he retired. He died in 1941.

  Another famous 19th century performer, who has also been largely forgotten, was Emma Nevada Wixom. Born near Nevada City, California in 1859, Emma Wixom’s family moved to Austin, Nevada when she was about three years old.

  Like Richard Jose, young Emma Wixom had a beautiful voice that seemed to enchant the early miners, eager for entertainment.

  While growing up in Austin, Wixom gained a measure of fame as a singer. It has been reported that at the age of seven, she was invited to sing at the dedication of the new Methodist Church in Austin (which is still there) and was a regular in the Sunday choir. She also began performing in mining camps throughout Central Nevada.

  In 1873, Wixom’s mother died and her father, who was a doctor, enrolled her at Mrs. Mills Seminary in Oakland, California, so that she could be formally trained as a singer.

  While at Mills, Wixom joined the “International Academy,” which offered her a chance to study voice in Europe. While there, she came to the attention of Mrs. John Mackay, wife of one of the Comstock’s wealthiest mining magnates, who sponsored her studies.

  In 1883, Wixom, who chose the stage name, “Emma Nevada” to honor her home state, made her debut at Her Majesty’s Theater in London. During the next several decades she performed all over Europe and America—including sold-out appearances in Virginia City and Austin in 1885— becoming one of the most famous opera singers of the time.

  Emma Nevada retired in 1906 at the age of 47. During the next three decades, she lived a quiet life in England, attending to her family (she had a daughter) and occasionally giving voice lessons.

  In June 1940, the voice of the woman known as the “Comstock Nightingale” was forever stilled when a German bomb exploded in her home in Liverpool, England.

  You can still find Emma Nevada’s childhood home at the corner of Water and Virginia streets in Austin (about a block northeast of the International Hotel).

New Reno Historic Markers Offer More Glimpses of the City's Rich Past

Martha Wingfield House, built in 1902 (Photo by Julia Moreno)

  While Reno hasn’t always been diligent about preserving its history, or telling its story, a series of fourteen new historic plaques in the city’s Midtown area are an attempt to change that.

  Supported by the Reno City Council, the Reno Public Works Department, the Reno Historic Resource Commission, the Midtown Business Association, the Regional Transit Commission and local historian Alicia Barber, the plaques note the location of more than a dozen historic commercial buildings and homes in the area south of the Truckee River and largely along South Virginia Street.

  Among the sites included are:

  • The Carr Residence and Office (669 So. Virginia St.), a bungalow built in about 1922 for the Sharpe family. Two years later, they sold it to local dentist George A. Carr and his wife, Grace. In 1938, Carr hired the noted architectural firm of Frederic DeLongchamps and George O’Brien to design an addition on the front of the house for his dental office. After using it for about 15 years, Carr retired and since then the house has served as a commercial property (most recently as home of a popular local restaurant named Süp).

  • Peerless Cleaners (698 Forest St.) has been in the same building since it was constructed in 1947. Prior to that, the site was the home of the Commercial Soap Factory, which opened in 1905 but burned down in 1935. While originally owned by Bob Cantrell, the two-story brick building was sold to Fred Bonnenfant Sr. in 1949. The Bonnenfant family has operated Peerless since then, with Fred’s grandson, Mark, the current manager.

  • The Martha Wingfield House (735 So. Center St.) is a lovely Craftsman-style home built in 1902 for Henry F. Alps, who was then head of the Reno station of the U.S. Weather Bureau. In 1911, it was acquired by Martha Wingfield, mother of prominent Reno banker/power broker George Wingfield. She lived in the house until her death in 1940. Over the years, it was converted into a commercial building, serving as the home of the Modern Music Center and a construction company. More recently, it has become the home of the Mountain Music Parlor, which hosts traditional American musical performances, workshops and instructional lessons.

  • The Giraudo Building (717 So. Virginia St.) is another structure designed by noted architect Frederic DeLongchamps. In 1928, DeLongchamps designed this two-story brick building with two storefronts for Paul Giraudo, an Italian immigrant who previously operated a shop in Virginia City. The building had six upstairs apartments and a grocery store (Gunter’s) and a wardrobe cleaner on the ground floor. Over the years, the two storefronts have been used as markets, several taverns, a drug store, and a florist. From 1935 and into the 1980s, the southern-most space was the home of Penguin Ice Cream.

  • The Dr. Pepper Bottling Company Building (1049 So. Virginia St.) traces its beginnings to 1939, when Chris Weske constructed the single-story, 6,000 square-foot brick building to house Reno’s first bottling plant for Dr. Pepper soft drinks. Weske operated the facility until 1941, when he left to join the Navy. The plant was sold in 1944 and became Ray’s Auto Body Works, then later became a furniture store. In 1950, it became the home of Sellman and Gravelle Upholstery, which later became Interiors by Gravelle. Since 2006, it has been the home of Melting Pot World Emporium.

  An interactive map of the full list of 14 historic sites can be found at: bit.ly/4c3sfXT. Additionally, the Reno Historical website, www.renohistorical.org, features longer descriptions of the sites written by Alicia Barber.

  

  

Old Sacramento Reveals the Capital City's Roots But With a Modern Flavor

   One of the best things about the Old Sacramento State Historic District in California’s Capital City is the history isn’t flat and static, like looking at an old map, but alive and present.

   That’s because Old Sacramento, while largely retaining its historic appearance and character, has managed to blend that past with more modern uses. The restored and reclaimed buildings may have originally been built in the mid-19th century, but the businesses inside each are contemporary.

   As a result, Old Sacramento has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Sacramento area, attracting more than five million visitors a year and offering fine restaurants, quaint bars, and plenty of shopping.

   Couple that with special events, like the annual Sacramento Music Festival and Gold Rush Days, as well as attractions like the California State Railroad Museum and the Sacramento History Museum, and there is a plenty to do in this reconstruction/recreation of the original Sacramento waterfront area.

   The city of Sacramento traces its beginnings to 1839, when entrepreneur John Sutter, arrived at the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers. Offered a land grant for the area by the Mexican government that controlled most of the present-day state of California, Sutter built an imposing wooden and stucco fort (called Sutter’s Fort, naturally) and began making plans to establish a community around the fort.

   The discovery of gold in 1848 in the nearby Sierra foothills served as the stimulus for creating the city of Sacramento. While Sutter’s Fort was located a few miles from the Sacramento River, a commercial district soon cropped up near the river to serve those rushing into the area to get rich.

   Among the earliest merchants was Sam Brannan, who would eventually become the state’s first millionaire.

   Despite being a great location for trade and commerce, Sacramento’s waterfront district was prone to fires and, in 1850 and 1852, devastating floods. In response, in 1853, the fledgling city embarked on an ambitious project to raise its business district above the flood level.

   When the first attempt to build a foundation that would withstand flooding failed in 1862, the city dumped additional thousands of cubic yards of earth to raise the street level even more.

   Today, visitors can see the original level of the area beneath Old Sacramento’s boardwalks and in the building basements.

   During the first half of the 20th century, as the city of Sacramento expanded to the east, the original commercial district was neglected and began a slow decline. By the 1950s, the area was known as the worst skid row on the West Coast.

   In response, starting in the mid-1960s, the city of Sacramento began redeveloping the area and created the first historic district in the West. Eventually, an area encompassing 53 historic buildings spread over 28 acres were registered as a national and state historic landmark district.

   The concept was to create a kind of Williamsburg of the West with authentic-looking restored, preserved, and reconstructed structures. Today, that idea has sprouted with vendors dressed in period costumes and rides offered on horse-drawn carriages consistent with the 19th century.

   Among the noteworthy structures found today in Old Sacramento are:

   • The B.F. Hastings Building, built in 1852, which served as the western terminal for the Pony Express and was the first location of the California Supreme Court.

   • The Big Four House, originally three separate buildings erected between 1851-52, which served as the offices for the four individuals responsible for constructing the Central Pacific Railroad (Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford and Charles Crocker, known collectively as the “Big Four.”

   • The D.O. Mills Bank Building, built in 1852

   • Sacramento Engine Company No. 3, built in 1853, and the oldest standing firehouse in Sacramento.

   A good place to begin any exploration of Old Sacramento is the Sacramento Visitor’s Center at 1000 2nd Street in Old Sacramento (http://sachistorymuseum.org/sacramento-visitors-center/).

   To reach Old Sacramento, head west of Reno on Interstate 80 to Sacramento. Exit on J Street, then take 3rd Street to the Capitol Mall and Old Sacramento.

   For more information about Old Sacramento, go to: https://www.oldsacramento.com/.