Lecture Series – More Than Petticoats: Female Prospectors of Nevada, Jordan Thomas

For many people, the word prospector conjures an image of tough, rowdy men panning for gold in boom towns across the west. However, many daring and determined women caught the gold fever and set out hoping to strike their fortune in the desert and mountains of Nevada. From Josie Pearl staking her first claim at age 13 to Anna Rechel mining to support her family through the Great Depression, these women made their mark on Nevada and the American West.

Jordan Thomas was born and raised in Winnemucca, Nevada, and has loved Nevada history and the California Trail for as long as she can remember. While growing up, her family spent many weekends out in the mountains exploring ghost towns or along the California Trail looking for wagon ruts. She received her bachelor’s degree in communication from Utah Valley University and her master’s in modern history from Aberystwyth University in Wales. Her master’s thesis focused on emigrant diaries along the California Trail through Nevada. She worked at the California Trail Interpretive Center in Elko, NV for 2.5 years and she is a board member for the California Trail Heritage Alliance in Elko. She is currently the Programs Manager for the Museum of North Idaho in