ELKO - A Chautauqua on former Nevada Gov. John Sparks is planned for Saturday, July 13, at the California Trail Interpretive Center.
Presented by Dr. Michael Fischer, former director of Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs, the Chautauqua will begin at 2 p.m. and is free.
Sparks, a cattleman who ranched in eastern Elko County, north of Wells, was elected Nevada's 10th governor in 1902. He served from 1902 to 1908. He was born in Mississippi in 1843 and as a young man moved to Texas, began ranching and became a cowboy.
In 1881, he and partner, John Tinnin, bought the HD Ranch in the Thousand Springs Valley, eventually running 30,000 cattle. At its peak, Sparks-Tinnin was said to control 6 percent of the land in Nevada. The railroad town of Sparks was named for the former governor in 1904.
Fischer, of Gardnerville, is a retired dentist, lifelong Nevadan and a University of Nevada, Reno, graduate. At the end of the performance, Fischer will come out of character to visit with the audience and answer questions.
A Chautauqua is an annual educational meeting, originating in Chautauqua Village in upstate New York, providing public lectures, concerts or dramatic performances during the summer months. This program is sponsored by the Nevada Humanities Committee
The California Trail Interpretive Center is located eight miles west of Elko at exit 292, Hunter. The center is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information, call (775) 738-1849 or visit the trail center websites at www.blm.gov/cv5c or www.californiatrailcenter.org, or on Facebook at California Trail Interpretive Center Association.
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