Ben Palmer: Black Pioneers on the Frontier

By John L Smith

The Fields of Silver and Gold series brings the past alive. Meet the trailblazers and the pioneers, the first people and the famous explorers, the legends and the everyday heroes that shaped the history, land, and culture of the West. Their powerful stories will fascinate and inspire you.

Rancher. Statesman. Groundbreaker.

From slavery to respected community leader, Ben Palmer lived the dream of Black pioneers during Reconstruction. As a prosperous rancher known for introducing the Bonner horse to Nevada, Palmer was widely admired for his honesty, intelligence, and generosity. Overcoming racism to serve an active role in politics, Palmer was the first Black person to serve on a US District Court jury in Nevada and to be elected as a state convention delegate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Keystone Canyon Press
• Release date: Sep 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781953055194

John L Smith

Native Nevadan John L. Smith is a longtime journalist and the author of more than a dozen books. He has won many state, regional, and national awards for his writing and was inducted into the Nevada Press Association Hall of Fame in 2016, the same year that saw him honored with the James Foley/Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism, the Society of Professional Journalists Ethics Award, and the Ancil Payne Award from the University of Oregon. He freelances for a variety of publications, including The Nevada Independent. The father of a grown daughter, Amelia, he is married to the writer Sally Denton and makes his home in Boulder City, Nevada. Sarah Winnemucca and Snowshoe Thompson are his first in the Fields of Silver and Gold Series.

Book preview

BenPalmerfrontCover.jpg

Ben Palmer

Black Pioneers on the Frontier

John L. Smith

For my friend Mickey Ormond.

Publisher Alrica Goldstein

Copyeditor Paul Szydelko

Cover Designer Alissa Gates Booth

Cartographer David Stroud

Photo Research Krystal Carter

Keystone Canyon Press

2341 Crestone Drive

Reno, NV 89523

www.keystonecanyon.com

Copyright © 2021 by John L. Smith

The publisher would like to thank the Nevada Historical Society, the Nevada State Museum, Nevada State Parks, University of Nevada Archives, and the Library of Congress for their kind permission to take and reproduce photographs.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021934105

ISBN 978-1-953055-18-7

EPUB ISBN 978-1-953055-19-4

Manufactured in the United States of America

Author’s Note

Historians prefer to use primary sources (letters, diaries, speeches, and photographs) to learn about historical events. Sometimes facts aren’t written down as they happen so historians use secondary sources (things written about a historical event by someone who did not witness the event). With these pieces of information, they have to be critical thinkers that put the facts that they know together to make their best guess at what really happened.

You can be a critical thinker too! Keep reading about history that makes you think and dig deeper. Find new sources and think about how that might fit in with what you already know. Understanding our history helps us understand our world.

Timeline

1826 The year it is generally accepted that Ben Palmer was born. Possible places of birth: South Carolina, Missouri, Illinois.

1848 Gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill in California.

1849 A rush of fortune seekers and emigrants begins to travel through the Carson Valley on the way to California.

1853 Ben Palmer and sister Charlotte settle in Carson Valley on 320 acres. She later marries David Barber.

1855 John Reese establishes Genoa near old Mormon Station.

1856 The H. F. Dangberg family settles in Carson Valley.

1860 Fewer than 100 farms and ranches in Nevada.

1861 Nevada Territory established.

1861–1865 Northern and Southern states fight in the American Civil War.

1864 Nevada becomes the 36th state.

1865 Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution ratified, abolishing slavery.

1865 In Virginia City, Dr. W. H. C. Stephenson establishes Nevada Executive Committee in pursuit of equal rights for Black Nevadans.

1868 Barn built for Ben Palmer by Charles Holbrook that still stands today.

1870 Fifteenth Amendment to the US Constitution ratified, giving Black men the right to vote.

1872 African American rancher John Howell runs cattle operation in present-day Southern Nevada.

1885 Charlotte Palmer dies in Carson Valley at age 72. She is remembered for her hard work, generosity, and hospitality.

1889 More than 2,000 farms and ranches in Nevada.

1890 John Howell moves his ranch to Oasis Valley near Beatty.

1908 Ben Palmer dies at his home in the Mottsville area. His life and character are widely praised.

Map of Northern Nevada/California

Map of Northern Nevada and California

A Mystery in Mottsville

Northern Nevada’s Carson Valley has a ranching and farming history as rich as the soil itself with some family landholdings dating to the mid-1800s. Nestled in the arms of the majestic eastern Sierra Nevada, with its grassy meadowland and abundant water, Carson Valley’s