The Mackay School of Mines building has supported earth science education and research for 117 years. This talk will discuss the history of the building, the Mackay School of Earth Science and Engineering, and the Keck Museum. Over 150 years of history will be discussed, including the dawn of industrial mining in Nevada, early mining education at the then Nevada State University, the rise of the Mackay School of Mines, and the future of one of the grand dame earth science programs in the United States.

Garrett Barmore is the Curator at the W. M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum at the University of Nevada, Reno. Barmore is an alumnus of UNR and received his Master’s in Museology from the University of Washington. Garrett has worked as the curator of the Keck Museum for over 10 years and has given hundreds of presentations and tours about UNR and Nevada’s mining history. The museum’s collection tells the story of mining and earth science education in Nevada.

The mystery begins with an old photograph of 12 men standing in front of the Lyon County Courthouse in Dayton with the caption “Thurston Douglas & other members of The Mystic 12.” Noted on the back of the image, it says, “Indian trial at Dayton in Nov. 1882 – convicting Chas. Genzel for the murder of an Indian woman.” It became a mystery when all the information turned out to be wrong. It is the first time a white man was tried, convicted, and imprisoned for the murder of an American Indian in Nevada.

Jeff Kintop has worked in Nevada history for 45 years. He retired from the Nevada State Library, Archives, and Public Records in 2018, where he worked for 35 years, starting as an Archives Assistant and retiring as Administrator of the Division.

He has written or contributed to books, reports, and articles on Nevada history, historical research, and archival programs. He served on and was chair of the State Board on Geographic Names and is now Deputy Coordinator/Co-Chair of NVSHRAB and President of the Nevada Judicial History Society.