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/.