“Charley Parkhurst” - Known as one of the premiere “whips” of all stage drivers, One-Eyed Charley Parkhurst came to the West from Rhode Island during the Gold Rush era of the 1850s.  At times Charley worked with famous local stage driver Hank Monk who was known as the “Jehu of the Sierras”.   Charley’s route was at one time through Carson Valley between the California gold fields and the Comstock. Hop on board Charley’s coach and take the ride of your…

When the last spike was hammered into the steel track of the Transcontinental Railroad on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Point, Utah, Western Union lines sounded the glorious news of the railroad’s completion from New York to San Francisco. For more than five years an estimated four thousand men mostly Irish working west from Omaha and Chinese working east from Sacramento, moved like a vast assembly line toward the end of the track. Editorials in newspapers and magazines praised the…

Description: Alice Conradt was just 16 years old when she married 28-year-old Will James, in Reno, Nevada. Alice met James through her brother Fred, not long after James’ sketches appeared on promotional material and posters for the 1919 First Annual Nevada Round-up, known today as the Reno Rodeo. Prior to meeting Alice, the drifter who called himself “Will James”, had spent time in prison in Carson City, Nevada and worked on several local ranches in Smith Valley and Topaz. Through…