Unique Archive of Elko Hotel, Casino & Saloon Owner/Author Kenneth Scott & Wife Jennette (granddaughter of ‘Bandit Queen’ Belle Starr)

Item Details

Elko NV, 1937-1987

Kenneth Scott’s death in 1990 brought the curtain down on an historic era; Scott and his wife Jennette played pivotal roles in the changes sweeping over Elko and the Silver State in the 20^th century. 

Born in Eagleville, California, in 1905 (near the site of the 1911 Shoshone Indian massacre), by 1919 Scott had gravitated to northeastern Nevada, eventually becoming foreman for legendary cattle baron William H. Moffat. From the 1930s through the 1980s the Scotts pursued ranching and mining interests while operating first the Overland Hotel (maintaining the hotel as a welcoming hub for the local Basque community, especially sheepherders and immigrants) and, later, the Pioneer Hotel & Casino (now the Western Folklife Center and home to the National Cowboy Poetry Festival).

In middle age, Kenneth Scott began to document the various phases of his life in a series of seven published books; the archive contains most of his edited typescripts and illustrates the dogged efforts he made to bring each of them to the public.

The wide-ranging archive illuminates each of the phases of the Scotts’ careers; key business papers (including original purchase and sale contracts, deeds and loan documents, canceled checks, and room keys) for the Overland and Pioneer Hotels; vernacular photographs add to the interest and importance of the archive.

• Contracts, loan documents, and other business papers along with artifacts and photographs related to the Overland & Pioneer Hotels covering the 50-year period 1937-1987
• Extensive documentation of Kenneth Scott’s successful efforts to publish his seven books, including typescripts of five books
• Voluminous miscellaneous papers, photographs, etc. related to Elko

This important collection paints a vivid picture of Northeastern Nevada’s history and illuminates and documents, through extensive primary source materials, the changes that transformed Elko and the State of Nevada during the 20^th century.

(Full Inventory available on request)