Writers’ Wednesday – On The GO! – Bowers Mansion: The Legacy of a Comstock Family (Off-site, KOP)
May 13 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Writers’ Wednesday – On The GO!
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
5:00 – 5:30 pm – Building open
5:30 – 6:30 pm – Lecture
Speaker: Tammy Buzick, author
Book Title: Bowers Mansion: The Legacy of a Comstock Family, published by the University of Nevada Press.
Bower’s Mansion, 1870s. NHS Photo
Summary of Talk: Few estates born from the discovery of the Comstock Lode still survive. Among the grandest, Bowers Mansion dates to the height of the Civil War. The property has a tragic history shrouded in legend, laid bare within these pages: from the mansion’s construction to Eilley Bowers’s fight to maintain the property after her husband’s death, running it as a resort and telling fortunes, to the mansion’s restoration in the sixties with the aid of a handful of determined women. Bowers Mansion: The Legacy of a Comstock Family is a tale of wealth and poverty, of decay and revival, offering up a powerful story from Nevada’s history for readers of all kinds to enjoy.
Speaker Bio: Tamera J. Buzick is the Bowers Mansion curator. While teaching at Hug High School, she worked closely with Betty Hood, former Bowers Mansion curator, as the historical researcher and traveled extensively in search of new information about the Bowers family. She is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno.
Authors:
Ronald M. James is a retired Nevada state historic preservation officer, a former member of the National Park System advisory board, and one-time National Historic Landmarks Committee chair. He authored The Roar and the Silence: A History of Virginia City and the Comstock Lode, among other books, and was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.
Michael A. “Bert” Bedeau is a member of the Nevada State Board of Museums and History and a retired district administrator for the Comstock Historic District Commission. He has authored National Register of Historic Places nominations and secured a National Historic Landmark designation for McKeen Motor Car #70. Bedeau is a founding board member of Preserve Nevada, former president of the Society for Commercial Archaeology (SCA), and co-editor of its SCA Journal.
Bower’s Mansion Washoe County Regional Park: Bowers Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 31st, 1976, and was raised to National Significance in 2014 – and is today one of the most visited historic parks and homes in Northern Nevada.
The Writers’ Wednesday Lecture Series, held the second Wednesday of each month, features a different author who takes part in a book signing, a presentation and question-and-answer session with the audience.
The intent of the program is to highlight writers who specifically focus on Nevada, the Great Basin, or the West in general. The authors talk about the content of their books but also share details about the creative process.
We would like to thank our partner, the Knights of Pythias for hosting our off-site lectures.
The Knights of Pythias fraternal organization promotes friendship among men and for the general welfare of its membership. They strive to make the world a better place by practicing the principles of friendship, charity, and benevolence through community service. The Knights of Pythias has been serving Nevada communities across since the 1870s. There are only three active lodges left in the State of Nevada. The address is 980 Nevada Street, Reno, NV 89503.
