Stories and History

Saturday March 23, 2024 , 11:00 am - 3:00 pm

Laws Railroad Museum and Historical Site will celebrated Women’s History Month, with docent presentations, games, puzzles, prizes, and an Irish “Ladies Fair” where visitors to the museum for this event can purchase vintage Jim Beam bottles, cookies, and place bids at a silent auction.

This year’s Women’s History Event theme was “Immigrant Women in Western Mining Towns”. Although many women in early Western American mining history were born here to immigrant families, others were themselves immigrants. They came from around the world, some were trafficked like Chinese teenager Polly Bemis who was sold to an Idaho mining camp saloon keeper. Others, such as Nellie Cashman, came to escape the Irish potato famine. Others came to seek fortunes of their own like Nicaraguan Ferminia Serras who became Nevada’s “Copper Queen”. Fourteen docents will be on hand to share stories of some of these women, host a silent auction, and hand out prizes. Train Crew members in the Engine House answered questions about the historic Brill Car, the restoration of our Slim Princess #9, and talk about women in railroad history.

A Once in a Lifetime Event:

Engine N^o18, restored to operation in 2017 by the Carson & Colorado Railway organization from Independence California, arrived at the Laws Railroad Museum and Historical Site on March 16, 2023, to be reunited with her sister Engine N^o9 (on static display), and N^o18 was in steam and operating on our rails during her visit.

Both engines are oil-fired 4-6-0 “Ten-Wheeler” narrow gauge locomotives, built by Baldwin in 1911.

Guests had the opportunity to ride in caboose N^o401 pulled behind the one and only Slim Princess N^o18 !

Rides were offered from 9:00am to 4:00pm, on the four days, March 18-19 and 25-26.

View videos of SP engine N^o18

The stamp mill and feeder here at Laws Railroad Museum and Historical Site were built by the Joshua Hendy Machine Works in San Francisco California. . Joshua Hendy came to this country from Scotland in 1836 and learned the Bishop Museum machinist's trade.  In 1851 at the age of 33 Joshua traveled to California and worked in San Francisco until 1852 when he had saved enough money to build a saw mill on the coast near Fort Ross. In 1855 he returned to San Francisco to manufacture parts for mills. By the 1860's the Joshua Hendy Machine Works was also making parts for mining and milling equipment.