Remembering the Marvelous Mapes Hotel

Mapes Hotel in 1955

Mapes site in February 2000

   When I arrived in Reno in the early 1980s, one of the most impressive structures in the city was the art-deco-styled Mapes Hotel on South Virginia Street, adjacent to the Truckee River.

   With its logo sign depicting two cowboys (who formed an M) and two-tone white concrete and red-brick exterior topped with neat spires, the 12-story hotel had a certain “coolness” factor.

   The hotel was still open when I came to town. I recall friends telling me it was where the movie stars stayed while filming “The Misfits” in 1961 and it had once been the tallest building in the state.

   I remember riding the elevator to the Sky Room, just to see the view, and just wandering through the place soaking in the smoky ambience.

   Then, about a year after I moved to Reno, it abruptly closed. At the time, I was a reporter at the Reno newspapers and wrote a few stories about the efforts to sell it. I remember even getting a tour of the shuttered hotel on the one-year anniversary of its closing with a bank official and writing a piece about the property’s uncertain future.

   In my story, I compared the old hotel to Blanche DuBois, a character in Tennessee Williams’ classic play, “A Streetcar Named Desire,” who famously had proclaimed, “I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers.” The same was true for the hotel.

   Interestingly, while the hotel had looked a bit old-fashioned with its Art Deco design—at least to the 20-something me—it really wasn’t all that old when it closed. The Mapes had been built in 1947—only about 35 years before it went out of business.

   History books, such as Patty Cafferata’s excellent "The Mapes Hotel and Casino: The History of Reno’s Landmark Hotel," note that the property was the brainchild of wealthy rancher Charles Mapes Sr., who, in 1937, purchased the east corner lot on North Virginia and First streets.

   It was his intention to build a fine hotel on the property to honor his father, George, who, he believed, had once operated a grain store on the site. Unfortunately, Mapes died before he had a chance to build the hotel and the other family members delayed construction with the outbreak of World War II.

   Immediately after the war ended, Charles Mapes Jr., along with his mother, Gladys, and sister, Gloria, moved ahead with the project. The old federal building and post office sitting on the site was demolished and, in January 1946, work began on the brick and concrete structure that would combine an elegant Art Deco design with modern building techniques.

   In planning the hotel, Charles Mapes Jr. specifically decided it would be a dozen stories because that would make it the tallest building in the state—and definitely taller than anything in Las Vegas at the time.

   According to Cafferata, the younger Mapes also reasoned that he could keep that distinction for awhile because no casino would ever build a 13-story tower (13 being an unlucky number) and erecting a 14-story building would be considerably more expensive.

   The Mapes Hotel officially opened on December 17, 1947 with much fanfare. In addition to a full house of locals, the hotel’s guests that night include actor Johnny Weissmuller (star of the "Tarzan" movies) and San Francisco columnist Herb Caen.

   Over the decades, the Mapes served as the host hotel for the cast of "The Misfits," including Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, and Montgomery Clift. It also presented performances by various prominent entertainers of the era, ranging from Mae West to Sammy Davis Jr.

   Additionally, over the years many celebrity guests stayed at the Mapes, including John Wayne, Mickey Rooney and Frank Sinatra. As Reno's toniest joint, it played host to a number of high profile promotions, film premieres and other special events.

   The party, however, came to an sudden and unexpected end on December 17, 1982. Charles Mapes Jr. had invested heavily in another downtown Reno casino, the Mapes Money Tree, which had failed, and he had been forced into bankruptcy.

   The hotel’s fate remained uncertain for another 18 years as many proposals came and went. Finally, the city of Reno bought the property for $4 million with plans to convert it to a timeshare project.

   When that failed to materialize, the Reno City Council voted in 1999 to demolish the hotel—despite the fact that there were other proposals on the table and the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

   In spite of considerable local opposition, the council moved quickly to implode the building—even though it had no immediate plan for what to do with the site (it has since been used as an urban park and, at times, as a seasonal ice skating rink).

   The structure was destroyed on January 30, 2000. It was the first building on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s List of Eleven Most Endangered Sites to ever be demolished.

Mining Camp Memoir Provides Glimpses of Goldfield's Past

Prospectors buying supplies in a Goldfield mercantile in the early 20th century.

   Every once in a while, you stumble onto a Nevada-related book that you wonder why you had never encountered it before. Sometimes it’s a book that’s been around for a long time, but never quite crossed your path.

   For me, one such book is Frank A. Crampton’s 1956 autobiography, “Deep Enough: A Working Stiff in the Western Mining Camps.”

   For some reason, I was not aware of Crampton or his book, until it was mentioned recently on a ghost town blog and piqued my interest. I found a copy of a more-recent reprint of the book and was pleasantly surprised that it was a fun and informative read.

   While Crampton was born to a socially-prominent family in New York City, he decided to make his way in the world as a hard-rock miner. One of the first places he works was in the Nevada mining town of Goldfield in the early part of the 20th century.

   His descriptions of that mining community’s glory days are descriptive and revealing.

   “Goldfield was the last of the great gold boom camps and had about reached the pinnacle of its productive new wealth when I landed there,” he wrote. “In Goldfield were characters from all parts of the world. The hard-rock miners and other working stiffs were the foundation and hard core.”

   “There were business men from the East and the Pacific Coasting, wanting to take a flyer, but for the most part being taken,” he continued. “There were promoters whose shrewd manipulations made grubstakes for themselves, but milked dry the savings of the credulous who wanted to become wealthy overnight but lost it all.”

   Along the way, Crampton encountered various colorful figures, whose names have become legendary in the Silver State. For example, he knew Shorty Harris, the prospector responsible for the brief boom in a mining camp called Bullfrog.

   “Shorty was looking for another Goldfield. He thought he had found it one-time, and so did a lot of others, and a boom got under way at Bullfrog,” he wrote. “Shorty’s gold outcrop at Bullfrog gave out too soon, and with it his boom camp.”

   Another famous or infamous figure he knew was Walter “Death Valley Scotty” Scott. Crampton wrote somewhat disparagingly about Scott, who was known for “salting” his mining holdings with bits of gold from other mines in order to attract investors.

   During his time in Goldfield, Crampton became a successful assayer and surveyor. He also was a witness to one of the seminal moments in Nevada sporting history, attending the championship fight between Joe Gans and “Battling” Nelson in 1906, which lasted an incredible 42 rounds.

   “No fight that I have seen since has equaled it in any way,” he recalled. “It was a fight from start to finish and not once did either man let up trying to knock the other out. Fight fans got more than their money’s worth.”

   A particularly interesting chapter in the book is devoted to his brief infatuation with an attractive young woman working in one of Goldfield’s “cribs.” After striking up a friendship with the woman, she suddenly disappears from the camp. Several months later, after Crampton had relocated to Oakland, California, to recuperate from illness, he unexpectedly encounters the woman with her husband. It makes for a fascinating read.

   That young woman, in fact, is the reason that Crampton never returned to Goldfield.

   “I didn’t want to return to Goldfield. There was nothing there that urged me to return. My experience with the girl of the crib would bring back memories that I preferred to forget. Goldfield would remind me of her,” he wrote.

   Ultimately, Crampton was presented with another mining business proposition in California, which he decided to pursue. He sold his Goldfield business and moved on to mining camps in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, and other places, before becoming an engineer and prominent political advisor.

   “Deep Enough” by Frank A. Crampton remains in print (from the University of Oklahoma Press) and can be found at most online bookstores.

Historical Roadtripping Through Carson Valley

Mormon Station State Park

  Carson Valley is one of Nevada’s most special places. Intersected by the Emigrant Trail—the route that many early pioneers used to travel to California—the lush, green valley was among the earliest places settled in the future Silver State.

  In the 1850s, a correspondent for a San Francisco newspaper was so taken by the valley’s fertile grasslands—which were ideal for grazing horses and cattle—that he described it as a “paradise for quadrupeds.” (catchy slogan!).

  The first permanent settlement in the valley was Genoa, which was founded by Mormon traders in 1851. Additionally, a handful of other, mostly forgotten, hamlets sprouted along the valley’s western edge, in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada range. These communities, with names like Mottsville, Sheridan, Fairview and Centerville, catered to travelers.

  But while these town names are largely gone, it’s still possible to retrace the route along the valley’s west side and, despite recent development, catch glimpses of the region that carried such appeal for the pioneers.

  The best place to start the journey is at the intersection of U.S. 395 and State Route 206 (Jack’s Valley Road), located about 5 miles south of Carson City. The road initially runs west toward the mountains, through a largely residential area.

  A few miles along, the road gradually turns south, passing by beautiful pasturelands that bump up against the mountains. The road passes 20th century developments on the outskirts of Genoa, such as Genoa Lakes, and others.

  In a few places, however, the old Carson Valley peeks through. For instance, a few miles before Genoa, hidden in tall trees below the road, is the historic Rufus Adams House.

  Built in the early 1850s, the two-story, white-pillared brick structure, which boasts 22 rooms, was once a hotel for travelers on the Immigrant Trail. Today, it remains a private residence.

  The road continues through picturesque Genoa, a community filled with historic homes and buildings as well as the Mormon Station State Historic Park, a replica of the state’s first permanent structure. The park boasts a beautiful picnic area in a quaint setting.

  From Genoa, the route passes Walley’s Hot Springs Resort and the area begins to lose a bit of its built-up character, offering views of open grasslands and beautiful mountain peaks.

  Farther south, the road, now called Foothill Road, passes Van Sickle Station, site of what was once the largest hotel on the trail. Built by Henry Van Sickle in 1857, over the years it served as a trading post, freight station, Pony Express station and stagecoach stop.

  Today, it’s a state park facility. Several of the original buildings remain standing.

  A little farther up the road is the site of old Kingsbury Grade road (an historic marker notes the spot). While earlier called the Georgetown Trail and Dagget Pass Trail, it became known as Kingsbury Grade in honor of one of the builders of an 1860 wagon road that crossed the Sierra range here. A mile farther is modern-day Kingsbury Grade.

  Six miles south of Genoa is a sign noting the former location of Mottsville. The settlement was named for Hiram Mott, an early Carson Valley rancher.

  The Mott family was prominent in early Nevada history. Hiram Mott’s daughter-in-law, Eliza, was one of the first non-Indian women to settle in the state. The Mottsville Cemetery, which is still there, was among the state’s first cemeteries, having been established in 1857.

  A few miles farther south is the former site of Sheridan (another historic marker notes the site). Founded as a general store for travelers in 1855 by Moses Job (namesake for nearby Job’s Peak, the tall mountain to the west), within a few years a town grew up on the site.

  For a brief time, Sheridan was the largest community in Carson Valley, but by the late 1890s, it had begun to decline. Today, only a handful of original structures can still be found hidden amongst newer houses.

  From here, the road passes a handful of small farms and plenty of open land. It’s pretty country that speaks of the kind of place most of the Carson Valley was once.

  About 30 miles from where the journey began, the road turns east and ends at State Route 88. From here, you can return north to U.S. 395 at Minden or head south to Markleeville, California.

Austin's Historic Courthouse was the Site of Lander County's First Legal Hanging

Lander County Courthouse today

   A few years before the historic, brick Lander County Courthouse in Austin was erected in 1872, an earlier wooden structure with a courtyard stood on the site. That courtyard, in fact, was the location of the county’s first legal hanging on October 30, 1868.

   The man who was hanged was Rufus Britton Anderson, a 21-year-old relative newcomer to Austin (one newspaper account said he had only been in town for a few months). He apparently came to Austin because his mother had remarried [she was now known as Mrs. Zottman] and moved there earlier.

   According to an account in the San Francisco Chronicle on the day of his hanging, Anderson had previously lived in San Francisco and went by the name Johnny Callahan. The newspaper noted that while living there Anderson and another youth had been implicated in the killing of a Chinese man.

   He remained in jail for several months before being discharged without any charges. More than a few media outlets suggested that Anderson had been released after agreeing to testify against is co-conspirator.

   The Chronicle said Anderson, described as hot-tempered, had been attending school in Austin. He also had, for several days, “been uttering terrible threats against his step-father [who by then had separated from his mother], brother-in-law, and even his sister, appearing more like a fiend than a human being.”

   On the evening of May 5, 1868, Anderson joined his mother to collect money from a man named N.T. Slocum, who had been boarding with the Zottmans but had moved out when the couple separated.

   The two went to a cabin where Slocum was now living and found him with four other people, a man and his wife who were named McIntyre, and two brothers with the last name of Eggleston. Once there, Mrs. Zottman demanded Slocum pay his past-due board bill.

   Slocum said he didn’t have any money at that time, but would be able to get some the next day. Mrs. Zottman then asked Slocum if he planned to deduct work he had done for her husband from his bill, to which Slocum said he would.

   At this, Anderson apparently grew angry and said that Slocum “was no man, and had not the principles of a man about him, repeating the words several times in an insulting manner,” according to the Chronicle.

   Slocum rose from his bed, where had been sitting, and asked Anderson not to talk to him in such a way and attempted to head out the cabin door. One of the Eggleston brothers stepped between the two and said there would be no such “difficulties” in the house.

   At this, Mrs. Zottman is said to have screamed out several times, “Oh, my God! You will kill me!”

   Anderson then stepped around Eggleston, pulled out his pistol, and fired twice at Slocum. The other Eggleston brother grabbed at Anderson and knocked his arm enough so that a third shot missed Slocum and the bullet went into the cabin floor.

   “Slocum then fell toward the bed and died almost without a quiver,” the Chronicle reported. “The pistol was then wrenched from Anderson’s hand. The Eggleston brothers subdued the young man and turned him over to the authorities.

   Following a sensational trial and an appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, which failed, Anderson was sentenced to be hung from a gallows erected in the courthouse courtyard.

   At ten minutes before 1 p.m. on October 30, he was accompanied to the top of the gallows by a Catholic priest and a deputy sheriff. After making a few remarks and asking for forgiveness, the deputy tied his hands and feet together, and then placed a noose around Anderson’s neck. When the signal was given, the drop fell and, if all had gone according to plan, he would have been executed.

   “To the horror of the crowd, the knot broke and Anderson lay stretched senseless upon the ground,” the Chronicle said. “The crowd uttered a wild cry and attempted to rush for the spot, but were kept back by the militia.”

   Anderson was revived and taken back to the top of the gallows to be hung again. Everything was repeated—and again the knot broke, with the young man slamming into the ground.

   Senseless, he was carried to a chair on the gallows and again the authorities tried to fix the knot.

   “His face was livid with the terrible suffering he had endured,” the newspaper said. “And a feeling of sympathy for the unfortunate young man was freely expressed by the crowd in attendance.”

   But authorities were determined to hang him, which they managed to successfully achieve on the third try.

   “And thus ended the career of a young man who, but for evil associations, might have been a useful member of the community,” the Chronicle concluded.

   Today, visitors to the Austin courthouse will find a small display reprinting a newspaper article about the twice-botched execution of Rufus B. Anderson.

Once Forgotten Paintings Offer Glimpses of Pioche's Past

Historic Lincoln County Courthouse, where the Schofield paintings can be found

   It’s not often that a discovery in an old shed in a remote rural Nevada town opens a window into the past of that community.

   But that’s exactly what happened in 1950, when local residents Vern and Mary Smith decided to clean out an old shed that appeared to be filled with old papers and documents.

   The Smiths were excited when they first uncovered a box of tarnished silver, but even more so when they found more than two dozen sheets of art paper, all about the size of typing paper, containing various scenes painted in water color.

   Believing they had discovered something potentially valuable, Mary Smith stored them carefully, occasionally showing them to friends and acquaintances over the next several decades.

   In the 1980s, the Nevada Historical Society learned of their existence and helped to identify the artist, Robert G. Schofield, and figure out who he was and how the paintings came to be in the shed.

   It had turned out the Smiths had purchased Schofield’s former home, located on Hoffman Street in Pioche. Schofield was an Englishman who traveled to the mining town of Pioche in about 1870.

   A sort of jack-of-all-trades type, Schofield was skilled as a watchmaker, jeweler engraver, sign maker, French teacher and house painter. He also is said to have liked writing poetry in his spare time—and he dabbled in drawing and painting watercolors.

   It’s the latter talent that has given Schofield a certain fame far beyond his lifetime. Between about 1878 and 1913, Schofield painted a number of watercolors capturing the landscape and life of several of Eastern Nevada’s mining camps.

   The late Jim McCormick, a longtime University of Nevada, Reno art professor, who has studied Schofield’s works, has written that the artist is somewhat unique because he used art paper that was rarely larger than the size of a piece of typing paper and painted with “short, almost fussy” brushstrokes that seemed to echo the work of the French impressionists.

   Schofield’s colors were subtle and muted rather than bold and bright, which McCormick said may have been because of the limited range of paint pigments available at the time.

   What makes the story of the Schofield paintings perhaps more remarkable, however, is he apparently painted them for his own pleasure so their existence wasn’t known until they were re-discovered by the Smiths, who had been savvy enough to recognize their historical value.

   In addition to identifying Schofield’s identity, the historical society also had the paintings professionally photographed and preserved. The Smiths eventually donated the paintings to the Lincoln County Historical Museum, which loaned them in 2000 to the historical society in Reno for an exhibition.

   The 28 Schofield paintings provide a rare look at Eastern Nevada more than a century ago. Scenes include views of some of the buildings, some street scenes and landscapes around Pioche as well as depictions of the mining towns of Eureka, Cherry Creek and Taylor (the last two are now ghost towns).

   McCormick, who served as curator of the Schofield exhibition, noted that in some paintings the artist “provided the viewer with panoramic views of these towns; in others he created more intimate street scenes with people, animals and wagons.”

   Schofield, who was born in 1838, worked in Pioche for several years and bounced around other Nevada mining camps before returning to Lincoln County. According to Nevada historian Phillip I. Earl, Schofield was involved in Lincoln County politics for a time, but lost a race for county surveyor in 1874 and one for county clerk in 1892.

   In 1900, he was finally elected justice of the peace for the Pioche Township in an uncontested race but was defeated two years later. 

   Sadly, there was no happy ending for Schofield. Earl has written that “the last three years of Schofield’s life were bleak and tragic.” He had grown senile and was unable to work. He became a ward of the county and died in 1915. He is buried in the Pioche cemetery.

   As for his paintings, these days they can be seen displayed on the walls of the “Million Dollar Courthouse” in Pioche, which is open to the public. For more information about the courthouse, go to: https://piochenevada.com/things-to-do/million-dollar-courthouse/.

Nevada's Historic Opera Houses That Have Survived the Ages

Thompson's Opera House, Pioche

   In addition to saloons, brothels, general stores, assay offices and boarding houses, some western towns, including a handful in Nevada, had one other popular amenity—an opera house or theater.

   That was certainly true in communities such as Virginia City, Reno, Carson City, Eureka, Pioche, and Winnemucca, which each boasted a performing arts facility, that would host touring singers, musicians, theater productions, magic shows, lecturers and, occasionally, even opera.

   While the various opera houses in Reno, Winnemucca and Carson City disappeared over the years, usually due to fires or progress, historic performance halls in Virginia City, Eureka and Pioche have managed to soldier-on into the 21st century.

   Probably the most famous of Nevada’s historic opera houses is Piper’s Opera House in Virginia City. The community’s first opera house, called Maguire’s Opera House, was built in 1863. Four years later, it was acquired by the man most associated with it now, John Piper. That structure burned down during the Great Fire of 1875 and, three years later, Piper erected his second opera house on the same site.

   A fire in 1883, however, destroyed that hall as well, so Piper built the third iteration of his performing arts center on that site in 1885. It is this version, at the intersection of B and Union streets, that continues to stand today.

   Over the years, Piper’s Opera House has hosted lectures by Mark Twain and performances by famed 19th century performers such as Edwin Booth, Lily Langtry, Al Jolson and John Philip Sousa.

   In the late 1990s, the building was purchased by a non-profit group, which has helped to restore it. The opera house continues to operate as a performing arts venue to this day. For more information, go to: https://pipersoperahouse.com/.

   Another of Nevada’s surviving performing arts facility from the 19th century is the Eureka Opera House, also known as the Eureka Theater, is the historic central Nevada mining community of Eureka.

   Built in 1880, the Eureka Opera House served as community hub, hosting touring companies that offered plays, concerts, lectures and balls. In 1915, it was converted into a movie theater offering silent films and continued showing movies until 1958.

   Closed for more than three decades—but maintained by local residents—the opera house was restored to its original splendor by Eureka County in 1993. Today, it continues to host visiting performances, convention groups, and other group gatherings. For more information, go to: https://www.eurekacountynv.gov/recreation-culture-in-eureka-county/opera-house/.

   The last surviving opera house is Brown’s Hall/Thompson’s Opera House in the eastern Nevada town of Pioche. Built in 1873 by Aleck Brown, it hosted dramatic presentations, dances, balls, plays, fraternal organization meetings and other events.

   In 1891, Brown sold the hall to Arthur S. Thompson, a prominent local businessman, who enlarged the stage and renamed it Thompson’s Opera House. Like the Eureka Opera House, Thompson’s installed movie projectors and screens in 1915 and, in the 1930s, the name was changed to the Gem Theater.

   In 1937, a new movie house was constructed adjacent to the old opera house. The new business assumed the Gem Theater name and, by the 1940s, the old building was largely abandoned.

   In 1991, Lincoln County acquired the opera house and began the long process of raising funds to restore it. The work was finally completed in 2009. Today, it is used for private events. For more information, go to: https://piochenevada.com/things-to-do/thompsons_opera_house/.

   In addition to the three Nevada opera houses that have survived, another that should be noted is the Amargosa Opera House located in Death Valley Junction, just a few miles west of the Nevada-California boundary. Built between 1923 and 1925 by the Pacific Borax Company, which mined borate minerals in the area, it was originally known as Corkill’s Hall and served as a community center.

   In more recent decades, it become known as the Amargosa Opera House and was home of legendary dancer Marta Becket, a former New York theater performer, who danced in solo productions there for more than four decades (from her early 40s until she was in her 80s).

   Becket died in 2017 at the age of 92 and her beloved desert opera house, now operated by a non-profit foundation, continues to host performances and is open for tours. For more information, go to: https://www.amargosaoperahouse.org/operahouse/.

The Loneliest Schoolhouse in Nevada

   It’s difficult to imagine what a typical school day might have been like for the students studying in the old-room school house located in the remote settlement of Elgin, Nevada.

   Tucked into Lincoln County’s Meadow Valley Wash in eastern Nevada, the Elgin area was first settled by ranchers in the 1870s. In 1880, a man named James Bradshaw homesteaded a ranch at the lower end of nearby Rainbow Canyon.

   Initially, the small ranches strung along the wash had little need for a school because there were not many children. But that changed after 1903, when the Salt Lake, San Pedro and Los Angeles Railroad built its line through Rainbow Canyon.

   According to the Nevada Division of State Parks (NSP), the railroad established small communities about every five miles along the route, known as “sidings,” where the train could stop to pick up freight or passengers. At many of these sidings, a small depot with various services was built.

   The presence of the railroad brought more people to the region and, eventually, more children, including in the area that became known as Elgin.

   By the late 19th century, the closest school to Elgin was in Panaca, which was 36 miles north. In 1903, a school was established near Kershaw Canyon, but that was also too far for those residing in the lower Rainbow Canyon/Meadow Valley Wash area.

   Two years later, a school was built in Caliente and the Meadow Valley School District was formed. Elgin residents coalesced to start their own school and in the early years the students met in an outbuilding on a ranch.

   In 1921, the district finally had sufficient funds to build a schoolhouse in Elgin and James Bradshaw donated seven acres of his ranch for the building. His son, Rueben, built a one-room, wooden schoolhouse, which opened a year later.

   Two years later, the school was expanded when a small apartment was added to the rear of the building to provide lodging for a teacher. According to the NSP, “after this, finding teachers was never a problem, since the teacher was well paid and housing was provided—but every few years a new teacher would have to be recruited since the young female teachers often  married local ranchers’ sons.”

   Despite its small size, the Elgin Schoolhouse, which housed students for grades one through eight, remained in use until 1967, when the school district finally acquired buses to transport children in the district to schools in Caliente and Panaca.

   After that, the schoolhouse converted to private ownership of the Bradshaw family and, eventually, was turned into a private residence for a family member.

   By the 1980s, the school building was vacant and beginning to deteriorate. In 1998, the Bradshaw family restored the old schoolhouse and offered it to the Nevada Division of State Parks in 2005.

   In July of that year, the school and surrounding area, including vintage playground equipment, was designated an official Nevada State Historic Site, which it remains today.

   Visitors to the site will also find an historic Union Pacific caboose on display. Inside, the school still boasts antique desks, books and chalkboards. The site is open to the public on the first Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is a $3 admission fee. For more information, go to: https://parks.nv.gov/parks/elgin-schoolhouse.

Carson City-Based Writer Stephen H. Provost Has Found His Muse in Nevada

 

   Stephen H. Provost is a prolific writer. Very prolific. A former newspaper reporter and editor in California, Provost, who now resides in Carson City with his wife, Sharon (who is also a writer and editor), has written or co-written at least 50 books, most of which are published through his Capital City-based company, Dragon Crown Books.

   His works span various genres from travel-history and biographical non-fiction to horror, science-fiction, and fantasy in the fiction realm. He and his wife are also two of the hardest-working publishers in the state, who sell their books at dozens of festivals, craft fairs, conferences, and author events throughout Nevada and California.

   Provost’s non-fiction Nevada books include “America’s Loneliest Road: U.S. 50 and the Lincoln Highway in Nevada” and “Victory Road: U.S. 40 and the Victory Highway in Nevada and the West” as well as several books about historic communities (“Carson City Century” and “Goldfield Century”).

   He has also written a pair of book about Virginia City, “The Comstock Chronicles: Sagebrush, Silver, and the Rise of Virginia City,” “Virginia City Then & Now,” as well as several focusing on Mark Twain’s time in that community, “Mark Twain’s Nevada: Samuel Clemens in the Silver State” and “The Adventures of Mark Twain in Nevada” (a children’s book).

   The Silver State has also been the setting for several short story collections and anthologies he has published, including, “Nevada Nightmare’s Eve: Tales Mined from the Depths of Horror,” “Nevada Nightmares Vol. 1 and Vol. 2,” “The ACES Anthology 2023: Stories and Poems from Northern Nevada,” and “The ACES Anthology 2024: Tales from Northern Nevada.”

   The latter four anthologies are collections of short stories containing not only his work and that of his wife but of more than a dozen other Nevada writers such as Bill Brown, Michael Falciani, Janice Oberding, Ken Sutherland, Angela Laverghetta and, in the interest of being completely transparent, several of my short stories.

   In other words, Provost has found Nevada to be fertile ground for his writing.

   For example, in one of his more recent works, the “Comstock Chronicles,” released in late 2024, Provost retraces the story of Virginia City chronologically, incorporating factual and anecdotal history in a way that makes reading the information both fun and enlightening.

   He writes in an engaging style that avoids being dry or boring and incorporates historic images, including photos and from period newspapers, to illustrate the many stories he shares.

   Another of his Nevada non-fiction books, “Goldfield Century,” offers a similar chronological summary of the history of the one-time “Queen of the Mining Camps.” Again, he deftly weaves historic details with fun and entertaining ghost stories, legends and local folklore.

   His “America’s Loneliest Road” book begins at the Utah state line at Baker, Nevada, and tells the story of the Lincoln Highway, America’s first transcontinental highway, which roughly paralleled U.S. 50 across Nevada.

   He shares the various details of the route, including historic accounts and reports of what was needed to make the journey, and describes the historic communities through which the Loneliest Road travels, such as Ely, Eureka, Austin, and Fallon.

   The Provost family (both Stephen and Sharon) of books can be found for sale on Amazon or through the more than four dozen bookstores listed on his company website, https://www.dragoncrownbooks.com/bookshops.

   For more information, go to: https://www.stephenhprovost.com/.

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/.