Badger Bart
Sr. Member
- Mar 24, 2005
- 301
- 20
THIS SHOULD GIVE YOU SOME IDEAS OF WHAT TO LOOK FOR BESIDES THE OBVIOUS COIN AND METAL FINDS. SOME OF THAT TRASH CAN BE QUITE VALUABLE. NOTE THAT THE RARE BOTTLE WAS FOUND BROKEN, THEN RESTORED.
Virginia City saloons exhibit attracts Smithsonian attention
TIM ANDERSON
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
LISA J. TOLDA/RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Brad-Lynn Fife, 11, of Carson City, looks Monday at the world's oldest bottle with a Tobasco Sauce imprint (ca. 1870). This is the first time the bottle, found in the remains of the African American-owned Boston Saloon in Virginia City, is on display.
"Havens in a Heartless World -- Virginia City Saloons and the Archaeology of the Wild West" continues through April 28 at the Nevada State Museum, 600 N. Carson St., Carson City. The museum is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and free to children under 18. Details: 687-4810.
A free public reception for the exhibit will be 5-7:30 p.m. March 9 at the museum. Free lectures are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 28 with Ron James, state historic preservation officer, and 7 p.m. April 6 with archaeologist Kelly Dixon.
An exhibit of 19th century Virginia City saloons has attracted the attention of the Smithsonian Institution, said Ron James, state historic preservation officer.
James said the exhibit that opened three weeks ago at the Nevada State Museum could be traveling to the nation's capital in 2008 or later.
"The artifacts that were recovered from four Comstock saloons knock your socks off," James said. "They provide a remarkable record of what life was like in a mining boomtown."
Rather than the barroom brawlin' Hollywood version of saloons, the artifacts reveal saloons were public places where people went to escape the harsh world of mining and to socialize with others in the community.
For Lyndee Monson of Gardnerville and Holly Hettrick of Carson City, who visited the museum Monday with their children, the exhibit is an important educational tool.
"It's essential for young people to know as much as possible about the history, and especially the history where they live," Monson said. "I'm very impressed with this exhibit."
Among the highlights is the oldest-known Tabasco Sauce Co. bottle from Louisiana, dating to about 1870 and restored after being found in 29 pieces. Another feature is a two-foot-tall ceramic carbon water filter from London.
The saloons, excavated between 1993 and 2001, yielded an assortment of items linked to the businesses, including bottles, plates, glasses and poker chips. But children's toys also were found.
Red clay pipes, normally associated with the South, were uncovered at the site of the black-owned Boston Saloon.
More than 300 artifacts """" considered the best of an estimated 300,000 uncovered and analyzed """" are on display. The items came from the sites of the Boston Saloon, Piper's Old Corner Bar, O'Brien & Costello's Shooting Gallery and Saloon and the Hibernia Brewery and Saloon.
James said having relics from four saloons on display at one time -- where they can be compared with each other -- is unprecedented.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for museum visitors," James said.
He said Smithsonian officials want to host the traveling exhibit in the nation's capital. But an extensive renovation project on one of the museum buildings has delayed any chance of that until at least 2008.
After the exhibit closes in Carson City in late April, plans call for part of it to be moved to the Comstock History Center in Virginia City in early June. James said the exhibit is planned to be on display at a Las Vegas museum later this year.
Virginia City saloons exhibit attracts Smithsonian attention
TIM ANDERSON
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
LISA J. TOLDA/RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Brad-Lynn Fife, 11, of Carson City, looks Monday at the world's oldest bottle with a Tobasco Sauce imprint (ca. 1870). This is the first time the bottle, found in the remains of the African American-owned Boston Saloon in Virginia City, is on display.
"Havens in a Heartless World -- Virginia City Saloons and the Archaeology of the Wild West" continues through April 28 at the Nevada State Museum, 600 N. Carson St., Carson City. The museum is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and free to children under 18. Details: 687-4810.
A free public reception for the exhibit will be 5-7:30 p.m. March 9 at the museum. Free lectures are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 28 with Ron James, state historic preservation officer, and 7 p.m. April 6 with archaeologist Kelly Dixon.
An exhibit of 19th century Virginia City saloons has attracted the attention of the Smithsonian Institution, said Ron James, state historic preservation officer.
James said the exhibit that opened three weeks ago at the Nevada State Museum could be traveling to the nation's capital in 2008 or later.
"The artifacts that were recovered from four Comstock saloons knock your socks off," James said. "They provide a remarkable record of what life was like in a mining boomtown."
Rather than the barroom brawlin' Hollywood version of saloons, the artifacts reveal saloons were public places where people went to escape the harsh world of mining and to socialize with others in the community.
For Lyndee Monson of Gardnerville and Holly Hettrick of Carson City, who visited the museum Monday with their children, the exhibit is an important educational tool.
"It's essential for young people to know as much as possible about the history, and especially the history where they live," Monson said. "I'm very impressed with this exhibit."
Among the highlights is the oldest-known Tabasco Sauce Co. bottle from Louisiana, dating to about 1870 and restored after being found in 29 pieces. Another feature is a two-foot-tall ceramic carbon water filter from London.
The saloons, excavated between 1993 and 2001, yielded an assortment of items linked to the businesses, including bottles, plates, glasses and poker chips. But children's toys also were found.
Red clay pipes, normally associated with the South, were uncovered at the site of the black-owned Boston Saloon.
More than 300 artifacts """" considered the best of an estimated 300,000 uncovered and analyzed """" are on display. The items came from the sites of the Boston Saloon, Piper's Old Corner Bar, O'Brien & Costello's Shooting Gallery and Saloon and the Hibernia Brewery and Saloon.
James said having relics from four saloons on display at one time -- where they can be compared with each other -- is unprecedented.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for museum visitors," James said.
He said Smithsonian officials want to host the traveling exhibit in the nation's capital. But an extensive renovation project on one of the museum buildings has delayed any chance of that until at least 2008.
After the exhibit closes in Carson City in late April, plans call for part of it to be moved to the Comstock History Center in Virginia City in early June. James said the exhibit is planned to be on display at a Las Vegas museum later this year.
