In 1865 the Douglas County Courthouse was built in Genoa, then the county seat after the area became part of the Nevada territory in 1861. Throughout the late 1800s the two-story courthouse saw murder trials, divorces, adoptions, property settlements and mining disputes settled in its courtroom. When the county seat moved to Minden in 1916, the building was converted into a school. Then in 1969, more than 100 years after it was first built, the building became the Genoa Courthouse Museum. Now you can tour the historic building and see maps and artifacts of the Emigrant Trail and other early pioneer trails; an exhibit on Showshoe Thompson, who delivered the mail over the Sierra Nevada mountains in the winter from Genoa to Placerville, California; and the Washo Room, a collection of Native American art and artifacts including a basket woven by famous Washo woman Dat-So-La-Lee. The museum also includes a bookstore with Carson Valley history books and a souvenir shop. Genoa Courthouse Museum is open from May to October.
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