Nevada virtually updates historical markers

The virtual versions of Nevada's 260 historical markers have been revised and updated, but it will take some money to swap out the actual plaques scattered across the state.

About $80,000 is needed to replace 80 or so markers that contain mistakes, offensive racial stereotypes or plain old "bad writing," according to state historic preservation officer Ron James.

The marker program, launched in 1964 for Nevada's centennial, was essentially "extinguished" by recent state budget cuts, James said.

In addition to cleaning up factual errors, misspellings and grammatical problems, an effort was made to rewrite potentially offensive language and characterizations drawn along ethnic divides.

"The fact is we're all Nevadans," James said. "The historical marker program shouldn't be about how 'we' interacted with 'them' in the past. It should be about how we interacted with each other."

Some problems were obvious. In Elko County, for example, the sign marking the mining camp of Tuscarora makes reference to the arrival of "Chinese hordes."

"It's not (about) political correctness," James said. "It's just hurtful, and that has to be corrected."

A handful of markers will be removed altogether as part of the update because "the sites just don't warrant being marked by today's standards."

James estimates that about half of the people who see the far-flung historical markers these days do so online as "virtual tourists." From now on, all they will see is the updated text.

Changes on the ground will come more gradually because each marker plate costs about $1,000.

During the editing process, the revisions were ranked so the worst of the old markers can be switched out first as they wear out, fall victim to vandalism or as funding becomes available.

The Nevada Department of Transportation provides support to maintain existing markers, but no money is available to change marker text or install new signs.

The Nevada Foundation for Cultural Affairs is now accepting donations from individuals and businesses wishing to help pay for the updated markers.

"Basically, we're soliciting money," said James, whose own salary is paid for with a grant that expressly prohibits him from working on marker business while on the clock.

If you want to talk to him about historical markers, you better catch him during lunch or a coffee break.

The Nevada State Historic Preservation Office launched its review of the markers in anticipation of Nevada's 150th birthday in 2014.

James stressed that the effort was not meant as a criticism of the people who researched, wrote and erected the original signs, most of which went up in the 1960s and 1970s.

"It's not fair to be judgmental of the past," he said. "But times change, and history has to be current or it's, well, history."

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.