Law enforcement memorabilia displays evolution of U.S. police work

Cells that once housed criminals in an 1876 jail now showcase one of the nation’s finest U.S. law enforcement memorabilia collections at the Silver State Peace Officers Museum in Virginia City.

Instead of being torn down, the musty cells, unused for years at the old Storey County Jail, were transformed into inviting displays of early law enforcement officers’ guns, badges, batons, uniforms, restraint devices, vintage police cars, photographs and much more. There’s even a hollow baton that housed a flask for a few nips on the job, when such perks were permitted.

Enough of the “real” jail was preserved to let visitors glimpse what it was like to be locked behind bars. There’s also an interactive Kids Station with flashing police lights and other playful equipment to amuse the youngest visitors.

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Several museums and historic depots around Nevada stand as testament to the importance of the railroad in forming and settling the West.

The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is part of a 56-acre railroad complex on U.S. Highway 50 in eastern Nevada. The museum is responsible for more than 60 buildings and structures on the complex, the steam and diesel locomotives, the rolling stock, the track and the historic steam-powered excursion trains. The steam train powers up year-round with special “Polar Express” rides in the snowy winter months.

Trains are so important to the history of Nevada, and the White Pine Historical Railroad Foundation, which manages the museum, has worked tirelessly to preserve the railroad in Ely, raising nearly $3.2 million that was invested in the complex and raising another $7.5 million that was invested in trains, rolling stock, infrastructure and tracks. In 2006 the museum received National Historic Landmark status and...

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The Longest Auto Race travels through Nevada Silver Trails Nov. 2-4 making stops in Tonopah and Goldfield. The tour celebrates the centennial of the Great Race of 1908 and retraces the route of the winning American team driving the now-famous Thomas Flyer car.

A Chautauqua performance by Jeff Mahl, great grandson of George Schuster Sr., the driver of the winning American team, is Sunday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. at the Tonopah Convention Center. Admission is free and donations benefit the Tonopah Chamber of Commerce.

Following a show-and-shine in Tonopah on Nov. 3, the tour continues to Goldfield Nov. 4 for a 9 a.m. breakfast at the Northern Saloon and Café. Cost is $7 and open to the public. A commemorative lap blanket and 1909 reproduction panorama of the town will be auctioned in Goldfield.

More details are available through the Tonopah Chamber...

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Nevada’s history is filled with tales of visionaries who saw an oasis in the desert, a gem in the mountains or an opportunity in times of want. The tales live on, but it’s rare to experience these tales first-hand, in living color.

Visitors to Nevada are fortunate to still be able to witness the vision of famous Broadway dancer Marta Becket on her own stage in the Amargosa Valley. Becket’s story is an unusual one, but the best stories always are.

While on vacation with her husband in 1967, Becket wandered into the Amargosa Valley on the eastern edge of Death Valley and never left. A flat tire halted their trip and gave the curious dancer time to wander the ramshackle buildings of Death Valley Junction. As she strolled the dusty road, she came across an abandoned old theater. Peering through a hole in...

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The Smith Cornelius Hotel in Caliente, a historic railroad town in southeastern Nevada, was recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation.

The Smith Hotel was most likely built in 1918 or 1919, since a newspaper advertisement dated 1919 promotes the Royal Cafe, located on the first floor of the hotel. Dr. and Mrs. J. Wesley Smith built the hotel and operated it until 1921 when the business was bought by W.W. Stockham. By 1928, the management had changed hands again, to Mrs. H. M. J. Cornelius, but the hotel was still called the Smith Hotel. Sometime after 1928 but before 1969, the name was changed to Scott Hotel. The Scott Hotel went out of business in approximately 1978.

Completion of the Pioche Branch of the railroad in 1907...

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