John Mackay and William Sharon were the wealthiest of the men to emerge from Nevada’s Comstock Lode. They were also the most influential.

Mackay, who rose from poverty, was the hero of Virginia City, respected by its miners and mine owners, idolized by its children. Sharon, the brains behind the “Bank Crowd,” was generally perceived as a villain: when Sharon ran for the U.S. Senate, Nevada’s leading newspaper, the Territorial Enterprise, characterized him as a “hyena.”

Michael Makley will talk about how these two Comstock kings battled each other, amassed their fortunes, and how they used their wealth on May 30 at 10am as part of the Ferris Family Speaker Series at the Dangberg Ranch in Minden.

Makley is the author of seven books on Western history.

This is a free outdoor event. The park is located at 1450 Highway 88, one-quarter mile north of the Carson Valley Veterinary Hospital. Visitors are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or use one of the park’s chairs. Dogs are not permitted in the park.