THE QUEEN OF THE COMSTOCK Eilley Bowers

You’ve heard of the Gold Rush. You’ve maybe even heard of the Comstock Lode. But have you heard of the penniless Scottish lass who headed west, and while running a boarding house, struck the richest silver mine in American history? Eilley Bowers became one of the country’s wealthiest women. But Fortune is fickle, and the West was Wild! Join Katie on location at Bowers Mansion near Carson City, Nevada for this surprising, cinematic tale.

Our guest is Tammy Buzick, caretaker of the Bowers Mansion.

The Bowers Mansion website is a great resource for photos, videos, and more about the history of the home and its owner. And here’s a video tour of the entire home, narrated by Tammy Buzick, and some great video of the hike up to the cemetery behind the house.

All photos by Katie Nelson unless otherwise noted.

An antique photograph of Eilley Bowers, a white woman wearing a black off-the-shoulder victorian-style gown, with dark hair unbound hanging down her back. She sits on a chair and looks at the camera. — Eilley Bowers
public domain

A black and white photo of Eilley Bowers' third husband, Sandy Bowers: a white man with dark hair and beard, wearing a white shirt, black suit jacket and black western bow tie — Sandy Bowers
public domain

A sepia photo of an approximately ten year old girl with dark hair standing in front of a victorian photo backdrop. She is wearing a calf-length dress wtih long sleeves and an intricately pieced wool skirt. — Margaret Persia Bowers
photo courtesy of Bowers Mansion Museum

A large white building with large brick front, a covered porch with grecian-style columns, sits among green landscaping and lots of trees — The Bowers Mansion in 2021

A small frame building sits in the desert next to an antique wooden mining frame (for hauling people and ore up out of the shaft) and a few other old wooden frame buildings in the background. — Site at Gold Hill where Eilley’s mine once was

A vintage photo of a large white brick house with a covered porch, with horses and wagons sitting in front. — Bowers Mansion c. shortly after construction

A large crystal ball sits on a small round table in front of a window with lace curtains. A red velvet armchair sits nearby. — Eilley’s crystal ball

An antique photo album open to a photo of a young toddler sits on a table next to a photo of the Bowers Mansion. She has light skin and dark curly hair. — Baby Persia, the Bowers’ adopted daughter

A 19th century kitchen with large wood stove, rag rugs, drying racks, plates on shelves, and other antique kitchenware. — Eilley’s kitchen, where she spent all her time

A formal living room with red velvet victorian sofas, a beautiful floral-patterend rug, red velvet curtains, intricate woodwork and chandeliers, and gold-framed mirrors. — Eilley’s parlor

The room is dominated by a large intricately carved tall wooden headboard, the bed with a patchwork quilt, and the room with gold draperies, a beautiful floral-pattered rug, and other pieces of fine furniture. — Eilley’s bedroom

A smaller but still very intricately patterned headboard on the bed, with a "crazy-quilt" style cover in vibrant colors, pink draperies, striped vintage wallpaper, and a pair of rocking chairs with a doll sitting in one of them. — Persia’s bedroom

A vista of a green valley, surrounded by trees, with mountains in the distance and a blue sky. In the foreground is a circular stone fountain in the grounds of the mansion. — View of the Washoe Valley from the balcony

A variety of broken dishes, bottles, and other housewares displayed on a wooden shelf. — Artifacts found in the courtyard

A photo of a group of women in mid-20th century dress, framed above a one-dollar bill. — The women who saved the mansion with $1

Music featured in this episode includes:

Image of cover of sheet music for Al Jolson's "Me and My Shadow" - Eilley Bowers episode — Al Jolson
“Me and My Shadow”
Episode 81 Eilley Bowers

Image of the cover of the album "Canyon Sunrise" by Andy Reiner and Jon Sousa - Eilley Bowers episode — Andy Reiner and Jon Sousa
“Liza Jane’s Goodbye “
Episode 81 Eilley Bowers

Chris Haugen
“Western Spaghetti
Episode 81 Eilley Bowers

Image of the members of Half Pelican, holding instruments and playing in front of a mic on a stage - Eilley Bowers episode — Half Pelican
“Tullochgorum”
Episode 81 Eilley Bowers

Image of cover of sheet music for "American Beauty Rag" - Eilley Bowers episode — Joseph Lamb
“American Beauty Rag”
Episode 81 Eilley Bowers

Two women stand on a front porch of a white brick house. — Katie Nelson and Tammy Buzick at the Bowers Mansion

Tammy Buzick is a native Nevadan who grew up in the Reno, Carson City area. After graduating from the University of Nevada Reno, she spent her entire career teaching math at Procter R. Hug High School in Reno. While in college, she wrote a research paper on Eilley Bowers. The curator told her most of what she had written was wrong, so she spent the next 30+ years researching the family and the mansion they built. When the mansion curator for 40 years retired in 2008, Buzick became the mansion caretaker.

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A pixel-style cross-stitch pattern of Eilley Bowers — Eilley Bowers custom cross-stitch pattern

3 Comments

Bonnie Ingram

July 16, 2021 at 1:02 pm 3 years ago

In the paragraph about Tammy , the retirement date of the former curator is incorrect. I think it’s supposed to be 2008, not 1908.
Rebecca

July 16, 2021 at 11:57 pm 3 years ago

I loved this. I live in Carson City and visit the mansion regularly. I am just starting my journey with Tammy to bring Eiley to life as a chataqua scholar! This was a great jumping off point to bring her story to life. Thank you for sharing them both. (Eiley and Tammy!)
What'sHerName

July 17, 2021 at 12:50 pm 3 years ago

Good catch! We’ll get that fixed!

Comments are closed.