NHS Artown Talks – On The GO! at Nevada Sunset Winery, Sat. July 12

NHS Artown Talks – On The GO!

Program Schedule
Saturday, July 12, 2025

Discover this year’s NHS Artown – On the GO! talks.

The Nevada Historical Society’s building may be closed for an exciting remodel, but you can still enjoy these fascinating lectures at the Nevada Sunset Winery during the closure. NHS Artown Talks – On The GO! Series is their Artown summer program that delves into Nevada and Reno history. Make sure to visit Nevada Sunset Winery every Saturday in July to spark your interest in the captivating past of Reno and Nevada with eight engaging programs that are geared towards audiences of all ages. A FREE Artown event!

Goodsprings, Potosi Mine, 1983

1-2 PM: 
Nevada’s First Mine, The Mormon’s Potosi Lead Mine
Why was a productive mine abandoned?

Presented by Joe Tingley, Mining Historian

In May 1855, a group of Mormon missionaries left Salt Lake City to establish a Mission at Las Vegas in what was then western New Mexico Territory. They arrived at the Las Vegas site in June and began to plant crops and build a “fort” for living quarters. Almost a year later, in April 1856, they discovered lead in the Spring Mountains northwest of the Mission and near Cottonwood Springs. Mining at what they named the Potosi—Nevada’s first mine—began in August 1856. In January 1857, after producing 9,000 pounds of lead, work stopped, and in March, most of the missionaries returned to Salt Lake City. Why did they abandon a productive mine after just five months?

Joe Tingley

Joe Tingley boasts a remarkable career in mining. Tingley is an exploration geologist focused on uranium, copper, and gold across several western states and holds degrees in mining engineering from the University of Idaho and Nevada. He worked as a research geologist at the Nevada Bureau of Mining and Geology, where he remained until his retirement in 2004. Tingley authored several geologic guidebooks for NBMG.

He volunteers as a docent at the NHS and presents to groups on mining topics. Joe and his wife love taking trips into the desert in their motorhome, smelling the sagebrush, and collecting a few rocks along the way.

2:30 – 3:30 PM:
Three Hotels: Reno’s Historic Lodging: A Retrospective
Learn about the history of these historic hotels in Reno.

Presented by Debbie Hinman, Historian

Get to know three iconic Reno hotels—The Riverside, El Cortez, and the Mapes— that contributed to Reno’s reputation as the Biggest Little City in the World. Learn their fascinating histories and how the two that still exist today now serve an entirely different purpose. 

Debbie Hinman

Debbie Hinman is a Reno native and UNR graduate. She has been a researcher, writer, and editor with the Historic Preservation Society for the past 20 years and has been a commissioner on the city’s Historical Resources Commission since 2016.

We would like to thank our community partner, Nevada Sunset Winery for hosting our lecture series. Nevada Sunset Winery is located at 415 East 4th Street, Unit B, Reno, NV 89512.