The Pre-Gilded Age Comes Alive at Virginia City's Mackay Mansion

 Virginia City’s version of the Gilded Age (actually pre-Gilded Age) can be viewed at the historic Mackay Mansion. Built in 1860 by George Hearst, a mining millionaire who made his fortune by being one of the first successful prospectors to work the Comstock Lode after the initial discovery in 1859, the three-story, brick building was one of the community’s finest structures.

   Hearst, who went on to establish one of the world’s largest newspaper and magazine empires, originally constructed the impressive building to serve as a combination office-private residence for his Gould & Savage Silver Mining Company.

   After Hearst moved on to other endeavors, John Mackay acquired the mine as well as the home-office. Mackay was one of Virginia City’s so-called Silver Kings, a quartet of Irish-American investors who became extremely wealthy from investing in Comstock mines in the 1870s.

   Mackay and partner James Fair moved into the house following the Great Fire of 1875, which destroyed nearly all of Virginia City including Mackay’s primary residence.

   Fair soon relocated to other quarters but Mackay, who enjoyed Virginia City, lived in the house whenever he was in town (his wife, who didn’t care much for life in a mining community, spent much of her time living in Europe).

   Mackay, who earned an estimated $100 million from his mining properties in Virginia City, lived on and off in the house until the 1880s, when his mines began to play out. He eventually moved to England, where he pursued other business interests including laying the first transcontinental telegraph cable between Europe and America.

   The Victorian mansion had several owners over the next few decades and  has been fairly well maintained over the years. Even today, the home offers a remarkable glimpse into Virginia City’s rich and colorful past.

   Inside, the mansion still has elegant crystal and silver chandeliers, French tapestries, Belgian carpets and mirrors sparkling with diamond dust—all appropriate for the home of a Silver King.

   During one of the guided tours of the mansion, which are available throughout the year, visitors enter through the former mining office, which still has the original office vault—who knows how many ounces of silver and gold were once stored there—and displays of 19th century Comstock mining artifacts.

   From the office, the tour passes through a small entryway and heads into the elegant Grand Parlor. This substantial room is filled with original Victorian furnishings such as an overstuffed sofa, marble tables and rich velvet draperies.

   An ornate fireplace of English oak begs for a cozy fire, while a 19th century James Broadwood & Sons piano, imported from London, seems to be waiting for someone to sit and play.

   From the parlor, the tour heads up unique Italian hanging stairs to the former bedrooms (since the house is built on a hill, you actually entered on the second floor).

   The bedrooms are decorated in Victorian style, with Mackay’s mahogany desk, his marble-topped chest of drawers and simple but elegant bed. Adjacent is Fair’s former room, which contains elaborately carved marble and oak furnishings.

   Perhaps the most interesting upstairs room is the commode, which still offers a lead tub, encased in carved mahogany.

   The ground floor of the house contains the Silver Room, which is a dining area that contains a large silver chandelier as well as a massive carved English oak table and chairs (seating for at least a dozen people), an elegant fireplace and beautiful wooden trim.

   Beyond the Silver Room is the kitchen and pantry, which are still filled with Mackay’s fine china, which dates to the 1870s.

   In addition to the historic house visitors can wander the grounds of the mansion. Its lush, green gardens are popular for weddings.

   The Mackay Mansion is located at 129 South D Street in Virginia City. Guided tours of the fabulous home are offered throughout the year (Sunday and Saturday from 12 noon to 5 p.m. during the winter; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday/10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday during the summer). There is an admission charge. For more information, go to: https://www.therealmackaymansion.com/tours or call 775-847-0156.

Once-Famous Celebrities Who Have Found Their Final Resting Places in Nevada

Muhammad Ali Knocking Out Sonny Liston for the World Heavyweight Championship.

   As home to plenty of well-known entertainers and sports figures, it is no surprise that through the years Nevada has been the final resting place for a number of deceased celebrities.

   In fact, the web site, findagrave.com, lists some 79 “somewhat famous” individuals who have been laid to rest in the Silver State.

   The list ranges from easily recognizable names like actor Tony Curtis, who died in 2010 and is buried in Henderson’s Palm Memorial Park, to once-famous but now nearly forgotten folks such as notorious baseball pitcher Robert “Bo” Belinsky.

   The latter was a promising fire-baller, who threw a no-hit game his rookie year in 1962, but ultimately became more famous for his womanizing and drinking than for his pitching (his career record was 28-51 when he retired after only 8 years). Belinsky, who died in 2001, is interred in Davis Memorial Park in Las Vegas.

   Other deceased celebrities (many of whom have grown more obscure with the passage of time) that are buried in Nevada include:

   • Actress Reno Browne (born Josephine Ruth Clarke in Reno in 1921), who in the late 1940s was a successful western movie actress. Brown, who also performed under the name Reno Blair, was married for a time to cowboy actor Lash LaRue and appeared in 14 western films in the 1940s and 50s. She apparently broke into movies as an extra in several films shot in the Reno area, then moved to Hollywood and worked as a trick rider and stuntwoman. In the late 1940s, she was the star of a short-lived radio program, “Reno Rides the Range,” and, in the early 1950s, had her own comic book (it lasted 3 issues). She retired to Reno, where she died in 1991 and is buried.

   • Tennis star Ricardo “Pancho” Gonzales (1928-1995), who is also buried at Palm Memorial Park. Gonzales won consecutive U.S. Championships in 1947-48 and was one of the most dominant men’s tennis players during the 1950s and early 60s. For many years, he worked as a tennis coach at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

   • Actor and director Jules Irving (1924-1979), who directed one of the first major TV mini-series, “Rich Man, Poor Man,” is buried in the Masonic Memorial Gardens in Reno. Irving was co-founder and co-director of the San Francisco Actor’s Workshop and later artistic director of the Lincoln Center’s Repertory Theater and experimental forum.

   • Boxer Charles “Sonny” Liston (1932-1970), who was World Heavyweight Champion from 1962 to 1964, is interred at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas (planes taking off and landing at McCarran Airport fly overhead). Liston, who had a professional boxing record of 50-4, lost his crown to Cassius Clay (Muhammed Ali).

   • Pop singer Guy Mitchell (1927-1999), whose real name was Albert Cernak), had 40 hit records in the 1950s, including million sellers like “My Heart Cries for You,” “The Roving Kind” and “Heartaches by the Number.” His career tapered off in the 1960s with the rise of rock-n-roll but he continued to perform around the world and in Las Vegas. Mitchell died of complications during surgery in 1999 and was cremated at the Palm Mortuary in downtown Las Vegas.

   • “Colonel” Tom Parker (1909-1997), Elvis’ controversial manager and promoter, is buried at Palm Memorial Park in Las Vegas. Parker moved to Las Vegas in the early 1970s, living for many years in a suite of rooms at the Las Vegas Hilton. In 1985, he moved into Country Club Towers and continued to work as an entertainment consultant for the Hilton until his death.

   • Comedian and actor Redd Foxx (1922-1991), whose real name was John Elroy Sanford, starred in the 1970s hit TV show, “Sanford and Son.” Foxx was also laid to rest at Palm Memorial in Las Vegas. In the 1950s and 60s, Foxx became a successful but controversial comedian, who tested the limits when it came to off-color content. From the 1970s to the 1990s, he appeared in Las Vegas showrooms as well as several TV programs and films and died while rehearsing for a new show.

   • Western performer Cuba Island Crutchfield (1891-1969), who toured around the world with Buffalo Bill Cody’s western shows in the early 20th century, is buried in Lone Mountain Cemetery in Carson City. Crutchfield was recognized as one of the world’s greatest trick ropers—his trademark routine was to spin a 100-foot lasso around the entire cast of the western show—and appeared alongside Annie Oakley, Harry Houdini and Will Rogers. The latter, in fact, was said to be a distant cousin. Crutchfield moved to Reno in 1927 and retired to a life of ranching.

 

Big Boots and Giant Sheep Help Highlight Community Arts Throughout Nevada

   Since 1999, when a Chicago businessman helped create the popular “Cows on Parade” public art project in the Windy City (which itself was based on an earlier public art effort in Zurich, Switzerland), dozens of cities across America have concocted similar public art installations involving various fiber glass animal statues.

   For example, Milwaukee had “Beasties” (whimsical four-legged creatures created by a local artist), while Racine, Wisconsin had bears, Macomb, Illinois had bulldogs, Atlanta had dolphins, Salt Lake City had bison and Seattle had pigs. Typically, the large statues are painted or decorated by local artists who are sponsored by local businesses.

   The craze has also inspired a number of Nevada communities to develop their own animals on parade public art projects, with the best-known ones being the “Counting Sheep” project sponsored by Reno’s Artown in 2005, and Elko’s “Centennial Boots” public art installation created for that community’s 100th anniversary in 2017.

   “Counting Sheep” involved 25 fiberglass bighorn sheep that were painted by Nevada-based artists and placed around Reno for a limited time. One of the statues, “Nevada Lambscape,” was painted by Lake Tahoe landscape artist Phyllis Shafer. The work, which remains on permanent display in the McKinley Arts & Culture Center in Reno, depicts the wide Nevada landscape across the body of the sheep with legs covered with sagebrush.

   Other sheep that were on display included artist Tim Guthrie’s “Dirty Harry Downwinder,” a bighorn sheep with an atomic mushroom cloud exploding from its back, Zoltan Janvary’s “False Idol,” with its gambling imagery serving as a warning for those who worship winning, and Darcie Park’s “Rodeo Ram,” a bighorn sheep hobby horse complete with a saddle and American flag blanket.

   Elko’s “Centennial Boots” project is ongoing, with new boots appearing periodically in the northeastern Nevada city (there are now about 50). The boots, in fact, are so popular that the city developed a “Boot Walk Map,” which pinpoints the locations of some 36 of the 110-pound, six-foot tall cowboy boots.

   Each of the shoes is made of polyurethane resin and decorated by a local artist. For example, one depicts a Central Pacific train steaming through the Ruby Mountains, while another in front of the Star Hotel is a tribute to the hotel’s rich Basque roots and history.

   The boots can be found in front of the Elko Public Library, the Great Basin College, various government offices, and dozens of businesses. Since each tells a part of the Elko story, they serve as a kind of community-wide scavenger hunt for those who seek them out.

   Among the highlights are artist Inga Ojala’s boot displaying a trout-filled stream rushing down the Rubies, flanked by a mountain goat and a bighorn sheep (in front of the LP Insurance Building) and a boot painted with a guitar and banjo, created by Tuscarora artist Sidne Teske with a realistic spur crafted by metal sculptor Susan Church (in front of the Western Folklife Center).

   One of the most unique is a boot painted by Elko architect Catherine Wines and her sister-in-law, Heather, who created “Starry Elko Night,” a tribute to Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.” In Wines’ version, the Elko skyline has replaced Saint-Remy-de-Provence, but the original’s psychedelic overtones remain.

   For more information about Elko’s Centennial Boots go to: https://everythingelko.com/centennial-boots/. For information about Reno’s “Counting Sheep” project, check out the Reno News and Review’s 2005 story about it at: https://renonr.com/2005/07/07/counting-rams/.

The Real Story of the Earp Bros in Nevada

Virgil Earp

   The recent death of Nevada historian/long-time Nevada State Archivist Guy Louis Rocha made me recall one of his books, “The Earps’ Last Frontier: Wyatt and Virgil Earp in the Nevada Mining Camps 1902-1905,” which he co-wrote with Jeffrey M. Kintop.

   Published in 1989, this slim volume remains one of the definitive historical works on the short time that the two Earp brothers spent in the mining towns of Tonopah and Goldfield.

   According to Kintop and Rocha, in January 1902, Wyatt Earp, fresh from Alaska’s mining boom, arrived in Tonopah with his wife, Josie. Within a few months, he and a partner had opened the Northern Saloon, and Earp also worked as a teamster for the Tonopah Mining Company, hauling ore and supplies.

   For a very short time, he may have served as an appointed deputy U.S. Marshal in Tonopah, mostly serving papers to defendants in federal court cases—but he never engaged with any shootouts with or pistol-whipping of desperados, like he had done in Dodge City, Kansas, and Tombstone, Arizona.

   In the late summer of 1903, the always restless Earp and his wife decided to leave Tonopah. He sold his investments and headed to Los Angeles to live. The two, however, returned several times to prospect around Silver Peak and other parts of Esmeralda County.

   And that was about it for Wyatt Earp in Nevada.

   As for Virgil Earp, Wyatt’s older brother, he and his wife, Allie, arrived in Goldfield sometime in the latter part of 1904. Down on his luck and nearly broke, he took a job as deputy sheriff of Esmeralda County and also provided security at the National Club.

   Sadly, a few months after settling in Goldfield, Virgil Earp contracted a bad case of pneumonia, which he was unable to shake. On October 19, 1905, Virgil Earp died in Goldfield at age 62. At the request of his daughter, his remains were sent to Portland, Oregon, and he was buried at the Riverview Cemetery.

   It is believed that Wyatt and Josie Earp may have visited Virgil and Allie in Goldfield sometime during the summer of 1904, but there is no official record of such a visit.

   According to Rocha’s research, “As for Wyatt Earp, there is no end to the list of things he didn’t do in Goldfield. He didn’t tend bar there, he didn’t own a hotel or saloon there, and in fact he didn’t do much of anything there.”

   In total, the two Earp brothers spent about eight and eleven months, respectively, in Nevada—hardly enough time to accomplish everything that has been attributed to them.

   Still, the apocryphal stories about Wyatt Earp in Tonopah make for fun reading. For instance, one of the most often repeated stories involves him coming to the rescue of Tonopah attorney Tasker Oddie, who later served as Nevada’s Governor and U.S. Senator.

   In the tale, claim jumpers were digging a shaft on land owned by Oddie’s clients. In order to stop the men from continuing, the unarmed Oddie jumped into the hole. The men allegedly pulled their guns on Oddie and ordered him to leave.

   At that moment, Wyatt Earp and his saloon partner, Al Martin, came along in a wagon. The famous former lawman, who sometimes worked for Oddie, quickly sized up the situation and jumped into the hole beside his friend.

   When the claim jumpers asked who he thought he was, Earp reportedly said, “I’m Wyatt Earp,” then pointed at Martin, who had a shotgun aimed at the mine thieves. The men lowered their guns and quickly scrambled out of the hole—but not before following Earp’s orders to replace the mine location stakes they’d knocked over.

   The great Nevada mythmakers, Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg, wrote about a remarkably similar episode occurring on a train ride. Allegedly, union thugs decided to shoot Oddie, who worked for the mining companies.

   “A walrus mustached individual in a slouch hat and neat dark suit who was lounging in the smoking room overheard two characters in an adjacent compartment planning to shoot Oddie through the partition as soon as the train got under way,” Beebe and Clegg wrote.

   “Unceremoniously, he kicked open the door of their bedroom and told them the project was ill-advised and they had better leave the train while the going was good. To their inquiry as to just who the hell he thought he was, the answer was simply, ‘Wyatt Earp.’ The assassins left.”

   It was, most likely, yet another example of the adage stated in the classic 1962 western film, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” In it, a newspaper editor tells a young reporter, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”

Ghost Town Aficionado Tami Force Shares Her Experiences in New Book

   For more than 25 years, Tami Force has explored Nevada and Eastern California’s ghost towns and historic sites. In 2020, the Douglas County resident began sharing her discoveries on a website, Nevada Ghost Towns & Beyond (https://nvtami.com/), which has grown into an enormously popular place for ghost town information.

   Now, she’s collected some of her best stories and photos in a pair of new books, In the Shadow of the Eastern Sierra: Ghost Towns and Historical Sites in the Eastern Sierra-Northern Region and In the Glow of the Sierra: Ghost Towns and Historical Sites in the Eastern Sierra-Southern Region.

   In Shadow of the Eastern Sierra, Force writes about more than 70 historic sites and places in Lassen County, including Peter Lassen’s Grave and Doyle, as well as at Lake Tahoe, and in Washoe County, Carson City, Douglas County, and Alpine County.

   In the Glow of the Sierra, Force turns her attention to more than 80 ghost towns, mines, wagon trails, and rail lines that can be found in the area between Mono County and Kern County.

   Each entry is lavishly illustrated with high-quality photos, some of which are full-page images. Additionally, Force provides useful historical information about each featured place.

   A large part of what makes Force’s books stand out is the fact that she profiles many of the more obscure spots; the places you might drive through but not really know their historic significance. For example, travelers to Amador County might not know the entire story about Maiden’s Grave, where two separate sites have been marked with that name, but no one knows for sure which is correct.

   In Carson City, there’s an unusual historic spot known as Ormsby Poor Farm Cemetery, where, beginning in the 1860s, down-and-out residents could work on the farm in exchange for room and board and a small salary. The farm remained open for more than a century, only closing in 1965.

   As part of the poor farm, a small cemetery was established in a grove of trees. Today, it’s still there, surrounded by a metal fence, next to the Carson City fairgrounds.

   In addition to the wonderful photographs, the books contain maps of the various locations.

   For anyone wanting to follow Force’s frequent travels throughout the state (which were the basis for her books), be sure to check out her Nevada Ghost Towns and Beyond website.

   There, you can find descriptions and photos of more than 800 ghost towns and historic sites throughout Nevada, eastern California, Utah and Arizona, organized by county. Also, be sure to sign up for her newsletter, which keeps followers abreast of her most recent journeys.

   In the Shadow of the Eastern Sierra: Ghost Towns and Historical Sites in the Eastern Sierra-Northern Region and In the Glow of the Sierra: Ghost Towns and Historical Sites in the Eastern Sierra-Southern Region are available directly from Force on her website (at a 15 percent discount), in many Nevada bookstores, or from Amazon and many other online retailers.

   Both books come in hardcover (retail price of $65, not counting the discount) and softcover editions (retail price of $45, not including the discount).

Remembering a Nevada Icon: Guy Louis Rocha

 

I think the first time I met Guy Rocha was shortly after I had gone to work for the Nevada Commission on Tourism in the mid-1980s. I don’t recall why or how I encountered him—probably checking some Nevada history detail—but he made an immediate impression.

He was passionate about Nevada history and, to me, a little bit intimidating. Later, as I got to know him better, I realized he was committed to just getting Nevada historical information right.

Over the years, I made it a habit to drop by his office at the Nevada State Library to just shoot the breeze. He always made time for me and I always came away having learned something new about the state.

I particularly enjoyed hitting him up when he was working on one of his popular Nevada Myth of the Month columns, because he loved sharing the latest historical information that he had just uncovered.

He called the tendency for some writers to conflate history with legend as “fake-lore” and refused to accept the idea that facts should not get in the way of a good story. 

Like many people who wrote about Nevada history, whenever I made a factual error, I would inevitably receive a firm but friendly phone call explaining how I had got it wrong. The calls could be lengthy—I recall being on the receiving end of more than one call during which Guy would use all the allotted time on the voice recording, then call back to continue with his thought, and then call back again and again to complete his message.

Guy also introduced me to a noon-time basketball group (of mostly state workers) that played for many years in the former Nevada State Children’s Home Gym in Carson City. The games were always competitive and occasionally intense, with Guy being among the most serious of players.

In his role as the Nevada State Archivist and Historian, Guy played an important role in making the Nevada State Archives relevant. I remember him once telling me that when he first began to work for the archives, he found many of the state’s oldest official documents stored haphazardly in a room in an old building beneath leaking water pipes that had already ruined some of them.

It was through his sincere and deep appreciation of the value of such documents that he, along with others, persuaded the Nevada Legislature and Executive Branch to fund the construction of the current Nevada State Library, with state-of-the art archival facilities for storing such important materials.

Because of his enormous contributions to telling Nevada’s history factually and correctly, Guy was inducted into the Nevada Press Association’s Hall of Fame in 2025.

In 2005, I moved away from Nevada and, over the past two decades, kind of lost touch with Guy. I would still see his name in the newspapers—usually being quoted in a story setting the record straight on some historical matter.

In 2009, Guy retired from his position at the archives after an amazing 32 years in public service. At his retirement ceremony, Nevada Appeal writer Kirk Caraway shared what Guy said was his motto: “We are entitled to own opinions, but not our own facts. In turn, we are entitled to our opinion of the facts, but not entitled to our own facts based on our opinions.”

It was advice that is sorely needed these days.

Guy died on September 18, 2025 at the age of 73. Appropriately, his life and achievements were marked by a Celebration of Life event at the Nevada State Library and Archives on October 31—Nevada’s 161^st birthday.

The Story of Nevada's Historic Railroads

J.W. Bowker at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City

  Few book projects have remained as relevant over the years as David Myrick’s splendid three-volume series, “Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California.”

  The first two volumes were originally released in 1962 and 1963, respectively, while the third was released in 2007.

  The first two books were once difficult to find, commanding premium prices in rare book stores. Fortunately, in 1992, the two volumes were reprinted by the University of Nevada Press, with the third volume added a decade and a half later. All three remain available from the University of Nevada Press.

  Together, the books contain the history of some 69 railroads, both large and small, that have operated in the Silver State. Indeed, after perusing just the first two books, you can’t help but feel that nearly every mining town in Nevada must have had a railroad at some point.

  Of special note are the 500-plus rare, vintage photographs of the various railroad equipment, buildings and affiliated communities—an invaluable photographic record of the industrial development of the state.

  Fortunately for readers, the late Myrick (he passed away in 2011), a noted railroad historian, isn’t content to merely tell the dry facts and figures behind each of these railroads. Rather, he weaves that information into the appropriate historical context, showing how each railroad was a reflection of the rapid growth and, later, decline of these mining towns.

  For those interested in exploring Nevada, the books are also a valuable resource when it comes to trying to retrace the locations and routes of these ancient railways. Detailed maps included with each railroad section show the original route, including names of stations and stops.

  Additionally, the end sheets of each volume include a map of the state and eastern California showing the location of all of the railroads featured in the books. The final section of Volume 2 contains an updated locomotive roster.

  Flipping through the pages, you quickly are impressed by the amount of wood and rail that once crossed this state. And, if you’ve ever had a chance to wander across Nevada, you can't help but be incredulous of the number of towns, which today are either ghost towns or mere shadows of their past glory, that once boasted major rail lines.

  For instance, the Eureka and Palisade Railroad once connected the mining metropolis of Eureka, in central Nevada, to the Central Pacific Railroad line (and later, the Southern Pacific, and Western Pacific lines) at Palisade (near Carlin in northeastern Nevada).

  Built from 1873 to 1875, the E & P experienced its greatest success during its first decade when Eureka mines were booming and the town's population topped 9,000.

  Today, a persistent railroad history buff, utilizing Myrick’s work, can find vestiges of the former E & P line (abandoned in 1938), by following State Route 278, north from Eureka, which parallels the rail bed and passes through many of the former stops.

  Perhaps the last remaining locomotive from the E & P, an 1875 Baldwin narrow gauge engine called the Number 4 (also named the "Eureka"), was sold in 1940 to Warner Brothers studios and appeared in several movies. A few years ago, it was restored by a private collector from Las Vegas and is occasionally displayed at western rail fairs.

  Myrick's series offer the fascinating stories of dozens of other railways ranging from the well-known, such as the Virginia & Truckee, to the obscure, like the Nevada Short Line, which once connected Rochester to Oreana.

  All remain essential reading for anyone interested in the rich history of Nevada’s railroads.

  To order copies of the three volumes, go to https://unpress.nevada.edu/.