Laurie Hickey leads a tour of the Mottsville Cemetery on Oct. 9, 2021.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
Historical Genoa Cemetery Tours guided by Laurie Hickey are 10 a.m. Saturday. Cost $5 per person. Tour size will be limited; you must preregister for the tour by emailing lauraranch@charter.net. Dress in layers and wear comfortable shoes, bring a hat and bottled water. The Genoa Cemetery is north of the town on Jacks Valley Road.
Genoa Cemetery, is the resting place of many pioneer settlers and their descendants. The land for the Genoa Cemetery was donated by Genoa resident Sen. James Wallace Haines.
“Learn the history of many well-known characters from Carson Valleys past, the Cradlebaugh family whose waterwheel influenced the invention of the Ferris Wheel by G. W. G. Ferris, as the story goes,” Hickey said. “Stephen Kinsey arrived with his uncle John Reese in 1851. John Hawkins family arrived in the early 1850s. Many descendants can still be found locally. Mailman of the Sierra John “Snowshoe” Thompson, his wife Agnes and her brother Samuel Singelton. The tour will include other well-known and not so well-known pioneers buried in the cemetery. After visiting a couple of plots, you will understand why Carson Valley is often called Cousin Valley.”
Plus, Hickey said a recent discovery of a plot that stunned even her and the connection to the first hanging in Nevada in 1858.
Pre-registration is required.
Closer to Halloween, the Douglas County Historical Society Docents will lead family friendly tours of the Garden Cemetery in Gardnerville from 3-5 p.m. Oct. 19. Tickets are available at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center, 1477 Main St. in Gardnerville or by phone at 775-782-2555.
