History of Nevada Diversity

Herman Schussler and the Comstock Water System

Hermann Schussler is famous for designing the Comstock water system, one of the most extraordinary engineering feats of the West, but his influence on the state exceeded even that astounding achievement. He was born in what is today Germany, in Rastede in 1842. Schussler attended the nearby Prussian Military Academy at Oldenburg between 1859 and 1862. In the fall of 1862, he left to study civil engineering at universities in Karlsruhe and Zurich and worked for some time as an engineer in Switzerland.

Herman Bien

Herman Bien arrived on the Comstock with experience in San Francisco as a musical playwright, teacher, editor, and rabbi. He played all of these roles in Nevada, as well as that of state assemblyman.

Henry Harris

Henry Harris was an African American cowboy. Born in Texas circa 1865, Harris came to Nevada in about 1885 to work for rancher (and future governor) John Sparks, who was establishing a large ranch in northeastern Nevada and southern Idaho. Harris was a valued employee of Sparks and other ranchers for over fifty years. During that time, he earned a reputation as a great handler of horses and became a well-known African American cowboy in the state.

Henry Bergstein, Father of Nevada Professional Medicine

From his arrival in Pioche in 1872, Dr. Henry Bergstein played a pivotal role in the development of Nevada's medical regulations and organization of the medical profession.

Helen Herr

Helen Kolb Herr made history as the first woman elected to the Nevada State Senate. She was also the second woman elected from Clark County to serve in the Nevada assembly. As a lawmaker, Herr sponsored legislation designed to protect the interests of women, reform Nevada's prisons, and expand medical care for the impoverished.

Harolds Club Innovations

Harolds Club in Reno was the first modern casino in Nevada. Although it struggled financially following its opening in 1935, it soon began to flourish, due in large part to several innovations that changed the nature of the state's relatively new business of legalized gambling.

Gypsum Cave

Gypsum Cave is a five-room limestone cave in Sunrise Mountain, approximately 12 miles east of Las Vegas. For a twelve-month period, between January 1930 and 1931, noted early archaeologist Mark R. Harrington (1882-1971) and a small crew of Native Americans dug through most of the cave's deposit. Harrington was interested in the cave for its potential to provide evidence of a period in the distant past when it was occupied by both humans and now-extinct mammals, especially the ground sloth (Nothrotheriops shastense).

Grimes Point

The Grimes Point site is a part of a much larger archaeological complex, which includes a wide variety of materials, caves, shelters, and other archaeological sites. The site is located on what was once a shoreline of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan and is best known for the cupules, which are small pits dug out of the rock surface and found on hundreds of boulders in the area.

Great Basin Prehistoric Footwear

In Nevada, people have been making woven sandals and leather moccasins for the last 10,000 years. Prehistoric footwear, however, is relatively rare. Among the historic tribes in Nevada (Washoe, Western Shoshone, Northern Paiute, Southern Paiute), people preferred to go barefoot as much as possible. Yet each group used footwear, when needed, for protection from cold, wet, hot, muddy, or rocky conditions.

Grapevine Canyon Petroglyphs and Creation Mythology

Grapevine Canyon is located about five miles outside Laughlin at the base of Newberry Peak in the Newberry Mountains. For thousands of years, the Mojave Indians have called this their homeland. Although it is unknown whether the Mojaves created the panoply of rock art that adorns the cliff sides of what they call Avi-Kwame or Spirit Mountain, it is assumed that they or their Paleo-Indian/Desert Archaic ancestors conceived and fashioned the petroglyphs at the site.

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