A TALE OF A HIDDEN HEROINE: Just a few days from now would be Harriet Walley’s 210th birthday — April 19th to be precise. But unlike her famous husband, David Walley, Harriet’s name has been largely forgotten. Born Harriet Jane Talmadge, she entered the world in 1815 in the scenic Berkshire mountains […]
A Forgotten Part of Carson Valley History
The Hunsaker Family. . . It was July 17, 1856, when Abraham Hunsaker and his family settled on their Carson Valley ranch. If you’ve never heard the Hunsaker name, well, you’re in good company; hardly anyone here today remembers the story. But it’s a fascinating one! That summer, the extended […]
A Lifetime of Service: Dr. Eliza Cook
Was Eliza Cook really Nevada’s first woman doctor? Despite what you may have heard, the answer seems to be no. None other than legendary Nevada historian Guy Rocha debunked that common myth, pointing out that other female physicians were already in practice more than a decade before Eliza received her medical degree in 1884. […]
The Diary of William Heitman
The Diary of William Heitman William Henry Heitman was the son of local miller Peter Heitman and his wife, Louise [Sarman] Heitman, born in Gardnerville, Nevada in 1888. You may remember our recent story about his father and the Heitman/Sarman flour mill. In June, 1958, William wrote a fascinating account of […]
A Letter from World War I
In April, 1915, while World War I was raging overseas, Carson Valley resident Fritz Bohlmann received a letter from relatives back in Germany. For over a century, the Bohlman family has saved that letter, and they have kindly allowed us to share it with you. Here’s the tale. _________________ […]
Carson Valley’s Early Flour Mill
Peter Heitman was born in Bielefeld, Westphalia, Germany in 1852, the fourth of what would soon become seven children. As a young man, he learned the miller’s trade. In 1868, Peter’s sister, Wilhelmina (Minnie) Heitman, emigrated to Carson Valley with fiance H.H. Springmeyer and three friends. Peter followed about 1872, and brother Louis […]
The Saga of Carson Valley’s First Records
From the outside, this slim volume doesn’t really look like much. A small, ruled notebook about seven-by-nine inches in size, its 81 pages are filled with handwriting that requires a good deal of squinting to decipher. But it’s one of Nevada’s historic treasures: the earliest land and governance records of pre-statehood […]
A Promise Kept for 140 Years
It was September, 1868 when Genoa’s Masonic lodge was granted its official charter, becoming “Douglas County Lodge No. 12.” Serving as first Worshipful Master for the Lodge was Robert W. Bollen, who would be elected the Sheriff of Douglas County that same year (and later became Grand Master for the state of Nevada). […]
A Scandalous 1886 Elopement
A Runaway Marriage: The year was 1886, and Mary Cosser and William John Swail knew what they wanted – each other. But the would-be bride’s parent were apparently less than excited about the match. The fact that Mary was just 16 while her sweetheart was eight years older might have had something […]
Poison Parsnip & Fun Facts From 1887
I’m working on a third time-travel novella, set in 1887. And what a fun trip back in time it’s been, reading the old newspapers to capture the period flavor! There were wonderful ads, of course, like Genoa barber David DeLong, who doubled as a dentist. And then there […]
A Gardnerville Classic
The Backstory to the Cheshire Antiques Building! As we saw in the last story, Arendt Jensen built what’s now the arched-window portion of Cheshire Antiques. Ground was broken in August 1906, and Jensen hired Reno builders to erect what was initially described as a “warehouse” some 50 x 100 feet in size. […]
The Story Behind The Midland Garage
It was 1883 when young John Arendt Jensen left his native Denmark to come to America in 1883. Just 24 years old, Jensen was full of energy – and dreams. Arendt Jensen didn’t wait long to take a spouse; he married Pauline (Lena) Norgaard (also from Denmark) that same […]