Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park [NV]

Description

The Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park is one of Carson Valley's first and largest ranches. The ranch was home to German immigrant Heinrich Friedrich Dangberg, who founded the site in 1857. A local businessman, rancher, and politician, Dangberg started his ranch with just a log cabin. At the time of his death in 1904, he had created a 20,000 acre ranching empire that his sons expanded to 48,000 acres. More than five acres of the ranch are now owned by Douglas County and managed by Nevada State Parks. The county and state are restoring the original buildings, including a main house, a stone cellar, a laundry building, a carriage house, a garage, and a bunkhouse. These buildings and original artifacts are on display.

The site offers tours.

Old Las Vegas Mormon State Historic Park [NV]

Description

The first permanent nonnative settlers in the Las Vegas Valley were a group of Mormon missionaries who built an adobe fort along Las Vegas Creek in 1855. They successfully farmed the area by diverting water from the creek. Today, the park includes a remnant of the original adobe fort, which serves as a Visitor Center with interpretive displays.

The site offers exhibits and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

Fort Churchill State Historic Park [NV]

Description

Fort Churchill was once an active U.S. Army fort. Built in 1861 to provide protection for early settlers, it was abandoned nine years later, and today the ruins are preserved in a state of arrested decay. A visitor center displays information and artifacts of the fort's history. The Pony Express and the Overland Telegraph once passed through this area. Nearby is Buckland Station, a Pony Express stop, supply center, and a former hotel built in 1870.

The site offers exhibits.

Nevada State Museum

Description

The Nevada State Museum presents Nevada history. Exhibit topics include the Carson City mint, geology, Native American life, and Columbian mammoths.
Collection highlights include a 19th-century coin press, mammoth fossils, slot machines by designer Charles August Fey, the USS Nevada silver service, and a 1902 Basque sheepherder's wagon. The museum includes the Marjorie Russell Clothing and Textile Research Center, which preserves more than 10,000 artifacts.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, 90-minute guided hands-on student tours, and unguided student tours. Areas of emphasis available for student tours are geology, Native American culture, Nevada history, and botany and zoology. Appointments are required for all tours. The textile research center offers programs on costume history, as well as research library access. Appointments are required for library access. The website offers 14 virtual exhibits.

Nevada Historical Society

Description

The Nevada Historical Society museum collections house over 15,000 artifacts, including mining and ranching equipment, artwork, clothing, and items related to the state's gambling industry. The permanent exhibition on Nevada history illustrates the lives of the earliest inhabitants of the Great Basin, the desert stretches of the Immigrant Trail, the Comstock era, the effects of Nevada's liberal marriage and divorce laws, and the rise of the gambling industry. The Nevada Historical Society's library, photograph, and manuscript collections constitute the largest and most complete repository of materials related to the history of Nevada and the Great Basin. Materials available to the public include books, newspapers and periodicals, print files, maps, government documents, subject files, ephemera, manuscript collections, and over 500,000 photographs.

The museum offers exhibits, guided and self–guided tours, hands-on activities, in–classroom presentations on a variety of subjects, a documentary presentation and discussion series, screenings of movies which are set in Nevada, and a research library. The website offers virtual exhibits, children's activities, and a comprehensive PDF outlining available teacher resources.

Online Nevada Encyclopedia

Image
image of a Cornish immigrant in Nevada with child
Annotation

Online Nevada Encyclopedia (ONE) is a succinct website focusing on themes related to the state’s history, geography, politics, economy and society. Ten thematic sections, such as "Mining," "Gaming and Tourism," and "Nuclear Nevada," appear on the left side of the homepage. When clicking on a topic, a short introduction appears followed by three to 24 article subcategories (104 subsections in all.) Educators will find the "Media Gallery" helpful in these subsections; the rich imagery is one of the positive elements of this site. Suggested readings and website links can be found at the conclusion of many articles, providing meaningful connections for teachers and students.

Viewers can easily access the virtual galleries, as well as maps that highlight popular destinations and topics of interest, from the homepage or content entries. Alphabetical indices list authors, content, and media, and exhibit galleries offer more information on people and topics in Nevada.

ONE, a project of Nevada Humanities, gives a clear representation of this state. Utilizing the website as a resource will help students understand the diversity of Nevada.