Logging subject of Thursday's museum lecture

Staff Reports

Logging in the Sierra is the subject of the Douglas County Historical Society's monthly lecture, 7 p.m. Thursday, at the Carson Valley Museum and Cultural Center, 1477 Highway 395, Gardnerville.

The lecture is presented by Carolyn Fregulia, a fifth-generation Amador County rancher, historian, and author of "Italians of the God Country" and "Logging in the Central Sierra."

Fregulia's great-uncle and grandfather worked on the construction of Upper and Lower Blue Lakes, Twin Lake and Meadow Lake Dams in the 1880s and early 1900s.

"Logging in the Central Sierra" is about the Sierra logging industry during the Comstock Lode. The logging industry was essential to the economy of Western Nevada during the Comstock era. Timber was used for mining, in construction, and as fuel. By the end of the era, much of the eastern face of the Sierra was denuded, with more than a quarter of the prehistoric forest gone.

The lecture is $3, or free for historical society members. Information, 782-2555.