Kingston School House Museum

06/18/2026

Our recent mining exhibit told the stories of 4 early miners, and they were all so different. They all pursued the illusive ‘big mining strike’, but only one of them succeeded.
Westy Peterson was one of those miners who never gave up. He had some good returns that enabled him to continue to pursue his dream, but not enough to retire. He made many friends and was highly respected. His life ended after major surgery in El Paso when he contracted pneumonia and died.
These are some of the documents that tell us a little about his life.

06/07/2026

The Victorio Hotel was built by Oliver Wilson and John Byron, stone masons from Sweden. They borrowed money from the Percha Bank to purchase furnishings and opened in October 1886. Terms of the loan were 1 year at 12%, which was the going rate at that time. When the loan came due they were unable to pay it. The Bank foreclosed on the Hotel and it was sold at auction to the Robinson family. This chair and lamp are in our museum, and they give you an idea of how ornate the furnishings must have been.

05/30/2026

05/25/2026

The county seat of Sierra County was in Hillsboro, and the county jail was there behind the courthouse. Kingston had a small jail for holding prisoners for a very short period of time. Some were probably released after sleeping off a drunk but those who committed more serious infractions were transferred to the Hillsboro jail.
The Kingston jail was located behind the Dawson drug store. That explains why the only window was in the back. It is still standing today and is privately owned.
The photo of the window is from the 1970’s, the photo with a larger view with surrounding property was taken in 1925 and the remaining photo was probably taken around 1990.

05/15/2026

This is a wonderful photo of Blanche Wilson. She is the daughter of Oliver Wilson, a stone mason from Sweden, who built the Victorio Hotel with John Bryon. They borrowed money from the Percha Bank to purchase furniture. When they were unable to pay the note when it came due, the bank foreclosed. The Wilson’s remained in Kingston for several years before moving to Lake Valley.
Blanche married and became Blanche Nowlin. Her house is one of the very few still standing in Lake Valley. It is being restored by the BLM, along with the rest of the town.

05/04/2026

Edward Doheny was born in Wisconsin in August 1856. When he was 26 years old, he left Wisconsin and headed west to New Mexico. He settled in Kingston in 1882 when word got out about it’s silver discoveries. He became a miner and a school teacher. He didn’t have much success at mining and, eventually became a mining claims trader. He also studied law and became a lawyer. He made many connections while living in Kingston. One of them was Charles Canfield whom he later partnered with in the oil business in California. They both became multi-millionaires. He also met Albert Fall. Doheny was tried twice in the Teapot Dome Scandal but was acquitted both times. He lived out his life in California and died in September 1935.

04/26/2026

Most saloon tokens were good for
12 1/2 cents on one side and the reverse gave the name of the saloon. Any kind of alcohol drink, besides beer, was usually 25 cents. So, you needed two tokens to cover the cost of a drink.
Osgood Boger was a saloon owner. He initially owned the Long Branch Saloon. Unfortunately, it became apparent that he had a drinking problem.
“Sheriff J W Allen of Sierra County was shot and instantly killed in Kingston on the 6th (10/6/86). He was attempting to disarm O P Boger, who had ben drinking heavily, when the gun was discharged, the ball passing through the groin, effecting instant death. Boger claims that the shooting was purely accidental”. Silver City Enterprise
His problem obviously became an issue and circumstances required that he move on from time to time from the ownership of one saloon after another, so his tokens were good for a drink with no identification of a specific saloon. Evidently, from his perspective, it wasn’t practical to include the saloon name.

04/16/2026

Regular museum hours are Saturday 10:30 - 4 and Sunday 12:00 to 4.

04/15/2026

The Kingston Ghost Town Museum will be celebrating it’s second annual Fall Festival. Last year’s was a huge success and many dealers sold out. We are looking for vendors for this year. It will be held on Oct 17 from 10-4 at the museum. An inside 8’ table is $35 and an outside 8’ table is $25. Inside space is limited so you would need to confirm it early. You may email me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you. Barb