Nevada History Lecture – Cultural Impacts to the Comstock in the 1870s
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October 5 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
$6.00
Nevada History Lecture
Saturday, October 5, 2024
1 to 2:30pm
Title of Talk: Cultural Impacts to the Comstock in the 1870s
Speaker: Joe Curtis, historian
Joseph Fredricks, Paints, Oils, Hardware and Wallpaper. Immigrated from Germany to Virginia City. 1870s. Joe Curtis photo.
Summary of Talk
Virginia City was a true melting pot for cultures from all over the world during the 1860s to 1880s. The Cornish and Welsh and Irish were the miners, The Germans were the engineers and brewers, The Irish had the distilleries, the Jewish population tended to be the retailers. There were plenty of Chinese, Polish, Native Americans, Italians, French, African Americans, Mexicans and you name it, that were sprinkled throughout the community doing all sorts of services, businesses and employment. Women were also prevalent in business, services and employment of all sorts. Yes, there were some aspects of discrimination, but it was not generally out of dislike for one culture or another but more from a rivalry such as a belief a particular culture was unlucky if they worked in mining for example. We will have a great discussion with appropriate photographs and examples to illustrate the fascinating cultural make-up of the Comstock. A presentation among friends!
Speaker Bio
Joe L. Curtis
Joe L. Curtis is known as the local historian, volunteer fire chief and owner of the Mark Twain Book Store in Virginia City.
Joe spent his childhood in Carson City, and from his youth on he has been on the Comstock. He is a US Army Veteran and a graduate from the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy. He dedicated 25 years to law enforcement in Carson City, retiring as Assistant Sheriff. He has served as Storey County Volunteer Fire Department Chief for 21 years.
Joe and his wife of 53 years owned and operated the Mark Twain Bookstore in Virginia City and is recognized as a Comstock history expert.
Make sure to arrive early as we have limited seating available in our Event Space. Don’t forget, we provide free, temporary parking permits to make it easier to visit NHS!
