Courtesy Nevada State MuseumWarren Wasson, also known as Long Beard, was a Nevada frontiersman.
Author and historian Robert W. Ellison will present the lecture "Long Beard: Warren Wasson, Indian Agent & U.S. Marshall" at the Nevada State Museum 7-8 p.m. Thursday, June 23.
The lecture is based on Ellison's book, "Long Beard: Warren Wasson, Nevada Pioneer, Indian Agent, U.S. Marshall, Inventor, and Enigma," published by Hot Springs Mountain Press in Minden. A limited number of books are available through the Museum Store.
Wasson was a frontiersman, a 49er, a scout, an Indian agent, a deputy U.S. marshall, then U.S. marshall, a U.S. tax assessor, a delegate to two constitutional conventions, and a military advisor to three of Nevada's governors. In his spare time, he was a father, farmer, miner, and inventor.
In the end, he disappeared and became an enigma.
Ellison is a resident of Carson Valley, an area rich in history. A lover of heritage and a good story, he spent more than four decades traveling the Nevada and California ground that Warren Wasson and his contemporaries traveled.
He received his bachelor's degree from Cal State at Fullerton, his master's from the University of Nevada, Reno, and did doctoral work at Claremont Graduate School. Ellison previously published two other works about Nevada's past: "The Territorial Lawmen of Nevada, Vol. 1" and "First Impressions, A History of the Emigrant Trail through Carson Valley."
Doors to the museum open at 6 p.m. for exhibit viewing in the main building. Regular admission fees apply: museum members and children 17 and under are free; non-member adult admission is $8.
For more information, contact Deborah Stevenson, curator of education at dstevenson@nevadaculture.org or (775)687-4810, ext. 237.
The Nevada State Museum actively engages people in understanding and celebrating Nevada's natural and cultural heritage. The museum is open from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.
Current exhibits include "Nevada: The Photography of Cliff Segerblom," "Slot Machines: The Fey Collection," and "Selections from the Collections," featuring historic fashions.
The Nevada State Museum is one of seven managed by the state Division of Museums and History, an agency of the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs.