Events

NHS is closed from January 2025 to December 2026 for our building renovations and retrofit.  Make sure to check out our free, engaging off-site programming! We want to thank our partners, the Washoe County Library System and Sierra View Library (SVL), for hosting our NHS Nevada History – On The GO! and the Knights of […]

High Noon December 18, 2025 Noon Register for this Lecture:  https://events.washoecountylibrary.us/event/15493028 Title: Our Nevada Stories: Oral History Project for America250 – Nevada Speaker: Bradford McMullen, Folklife Specialist, Nevada Arts Council, Las Vegas, and State of Nevada Folklorist Talk Summary: Every Nevadan has a story, and Brad McMullen is interested in hearing as many of them as […]

January 3, 2026, 1 – 2:30 pm Speaker: Dr. William ‘Bill’ Rowley, Grace A. Griffen Endowed Chair; Professor Emeritus UNR   “Our Public Lands” are a fact of everyday life in most far western states. How did the words “our” and “public” come to identify lands now largely under the administration of the United States Forest […]

Writers’ Wednesday – On The GO! Wednesday, January 14, 2026 5:00 – 5:30 pm – Building open 5:30 – 6:30 pm – Lecture Speaker: Richard Lippoth, Mining Engineer and Geologist Book Title: Bulkeley Wells and the Uncertain Luck of the Mining Game Title of Talk: Bulkeley Wells and the United Comstock Mines Book Overview: This […]

High Noon January 15, 2026 Noon Register for this Lecture:   https://events.washoecountylibrary.us/event/15493116 Title: Rhyolite: The Life and Death of a Boom Town Speaker: Dr. Howard Goldbaum, Emeritus, UNR Reynolds Journalism Talk Summary: In 1903, there were no buildings, no roads, and no people in what was to become Rhyolite. Only five years later, some 6,000 optimists […]

February 7, 2026, 1 – 2:30 pm Speaker: Richard Dorman, historian and geologist Kittie Wilkins was an extraordinary woman whose life defied the conventions of her time. Born in the American West, she received a consistent education despite her family’s frequent relocations to various boomtowns, where her father, J.R. Wilkins, established businesses aimed at serving […]

Writers’ Wednesday – On The GO! Wednesday, February 11, 2026 5:00 – 5:30 pm – Building open 5:30 – 6:30 pm – Lecture Speaker:Pat Hickey, Author and Columnist Book Title: Here and Hereafter: Nevada Voices on Life and the Great Beyond Summary of Talk: A profound exploration of human experience through the lens of those […]

High Noon February 19, 2026 Noon Register for this Lecture:  https://events.washoecountylibrary.us/event/15493124 Title: Hair, Makeup, and Me Speaker: Jan Loverin, Curator of Clothing and Textiles, Nevada State Museum, Carson City. Talk Summary: Putting on your face, or applying makeup, is an activity most women and some men do daily. Curator, Jan Loverin, explores a brief history of […]

March 7, 2026, 1 – 2:30 pm Speaker: Dr. Alicia Barber, historian For the first six decades of the 20th century, thousands of discontented husbands and wives flocked to Nevada, particularly to Reno, to end their marriages. They were drawn by a unique set of legal provisions that enabled what became known as the migratory […]

Writers’ Wednesday – On The GO! Wednesday, March 11, 2026 5:00 – 5:30 pm – Building open 5:30 – 6:30 pm – Lecture Speakers: Erich Obermayr and Robert W. McQueen, authors and archeologists Book Title: Historical Archaeology in the Cortez Mining District: Under the Nevada Giant, published by the University of Nevada Press. Title of […]

High Noon March 19, 2026 Noon Register for this Lecture: Title: Nevada Women’s History Project presents: Nine Notable Nevada Women Speaker: Sue Davis, President of the Nevada Women’s History Project Talk Summary: A brief presentation about NWHP and then detailed biographies of Nine Notable Nevada Women Who Broke Barriers, were Elected Officials, Environmentalists, and had […]

April 4, 2026, 1 – 2:30 pm Speaker: Dr. Dana Bennett, historian In 1914, when Nevada women won the right to vote, they also won the right to hold public office. Four years later, Sadie Hurst of Reno became the first woman to win a seat in the Nevada Legislature, blazing the trail for 20 […]

High Noon April 16, 2026 Noon Register for this Lecture: Title: History of Hamilton, Nevada, White Pine County’s original county seat Speaker: Sean Pitts, Museum Director and historian Talk Summary: Explore the rich history of Nevada’s first eastern mining boom using historic maps and photographs. Learn how the 1867 silver discovery of Treasure Hill in […]

May 2, 2026, 1 – 2:30 pm Speaker: Dr. Michael Green, UNLV Dept Chair of History, author At Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln referred back to Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence in describing “a new birth of freedom.” Less than a year later, Nevada became a state. How were these people and events connected? This […]

June 6, 2026, 1 – 3:00 pm 2-hour special program Learn the history surrounding Nevada’s oldest community with this amazing Historian panel! Historian Speaker Panel: Jeff Kintop, Stan Paher, Mike Fischer, and one additional panelist, TBA.

John C. Frémont’s Bumpy Path from Fame to Obscurity Special Nevada Day Program October 3, 2026 1:00 to 2:30 pm Nevada History – On The GO! Lecture 2026 The Nevada Historical Society’s building may be closed for an exciting remodel, but you can still enjoy their fascinating lectures at the Sierra View Library during their […]