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Located near Carson City, the Stewart Indian School (named for Ne-
vada U.S. Senator William Stewart) opened in 1890, one of twenty-
five federal government schools created to teach Native American
children the English language and Euro-American culture. Fortunately

for Nevada’s Indian children, early superintendents W.D.C. Gibson
and Frederick Snyder relaxed the harsh federal requirements and
changed it into a school Native American parents wanted their chil-
dren to attend in order to learn important and useful job skills. The
well-made stone structures still stand today as an interpretive center
Stewart Indian School
operated by the Nevada Indian Commission.

There are over eighty photos in the book.
One of my favorite buildings is the Cali-
ente Depot, built in 1923 in the beautiful
Mission Revival style. Operated for many
years as a railroad depot and office com-
plex, it also had a hotel and restaurant for

travelers. It now is home to Caliente’s mu-
seum, library and arts center.
Caliente Depot

A truly unique site is the Tonopah Mining Park. This open-air park holds buildings and equipment representing all the
periods in Nevada’s mining industry. Opened in 1994, the park brings together two important industries in our state
— tourism and mining.

One way a building becomes historic is if it survives. Some buildings simply collapse with time or are demolished;
others are lucky and get moved to a new location. It takes time to decide if a building is important enough to preserve,
but thanks to the work done by the Nevada Commission for Cultural Affairs and local preservationists, the buildings

in this book have survived…at least for now.
Reviewed books are available in Elements Gift Store ~ Friends members receive a 15% discount

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