Think Local: Genoa Bar offers first-class look at old Nevada history
GENOA, Nev. (MyNews4.com & KRNV) — Let's take a trip back in history.
The little town of Genoa was the first settlement in Nevada, and is home to the first and oldest saloon in the Silver State, the Genoa Bar.
"When you walk into this bar, it's kind of a time machine in a way, and it has a lot of effect on people," said Willy Webb, owner of the bar.
The bar opened in 1853, 11 years before Nevada was even considered a state. It's original name was Livingston's Exchange, known as a "gentlemen's saloon." It was a first-class saloon that served fine wines, liquor, and cigars.
With dozens of owners and hundreds of years later, the history still remains.
"The combination of the porch, and the mirror, and the bar, and all of this history that is on the wall, it gives me goosebumps every time I start to think about a story," said Cindy Webb, owner of the bar.
The Diamond Dust Mirror on the back of the bar came from Glasgow, Scotland, in the late 1840's and was brought to the bar in a covered wagon from San Francisco. If you look close enough, you can see the sparkle of the diamonds in the mirror!
The bar itself is another original piece from the 1800's. Even the top half of the windows have not been replaced. It has a brownish-yellowish coloring to it, all thanks to nicotine.
Willy Webb was a carpenter for 30 years when an opportunity to buy the bar was presented to him. The Webbs bought the saloon with two other partners in 2000 with zero bar experience. They ended up buying out those two, and have been owning it themselves since 2008.
"We learned a lot real quick and it was a pure necessity because the first half of a year was a little rocky, we didn't know what was going on and we didn't know what we were doing," said Webb.
Their two daughters manage and tend the bar, and it has become a family-owned business.
"It's definitely a destination for tourists to come and see a really rich part of history in the state of Nevada," said Webb.
Check out the Genoa Bar on Facebook where they post weekend events and live music every Friday!
