Barn tour tickets on sale

Staff Reports

Visit some of Nevada's first barns and learn about the agricultural history of Carson Valley during the Emigrant Trail Barn Tour, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 22. The annual barn tour is a fundraiser for the Douglas County Historical Society. Tickets are $15 for historical society members and $20 for nonmembers.

Carson Valley's timber-framed barns were so well-made that many remain useful after 100 or more years.

A generation ago, almost every ranch had a dairy herd, beef cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, chickens and turkeys. Though the barns are connected to a family ranch, many are no longer used for their original purpose. Today they provide storage for farm equipment and household items.

Admission price includes a lecture and slide presentation on the Carson River Route of the Emigrant Trail from the 40-mile desert to West Pass, and entrance to the Genoa Courthouse Museum and Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville.

Tickets may be purchased by credit card by calling 782-2555 and picked up between 8 and 9 a.m. on the day of the tour at the Genoa Courthouse Museum. There is an additional $1 charge If you wish tickets to be mailed to you. Tickets may be purchased at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.