Charles W. Friend House Observatory & Weather Station
Charles W. Friend House Observatory & Weather Station Overview
This is the site of the house and observatory of Nevada’s first weatherman, astronomer, and seismologist, Charles William Friend.
Category
- Event
- Person
Marker Type
Concrete marker
Nevada Historical Marker Number
Charles W. Friend House Observatory & Weather Station is Nevada Historical Marker #258.
Carson City is home to 26 Nevada State Historical Markers and the links to each are below for you to research to see if you want to add to your exploration list.
- #1 Empire and the Carson River Mills
- #25 Nevada’s Capitol
- #44 Carson City
- #70 Bliss Mansion
- #71 Methodist Church of Carson City
- #72 Nevada State Children’s Home
- #75 Federal Government Building (1888- 1970)
- #76 Eagle Valley
- #77 Dat-So-La-Lee
- #78 Orion Clemens Home
- #91 Stewart Indian School
- #134 Trans-Sierran Pioneer Flight
- #175 Stewart – Nye Residence
- #179 First Air Flight Over Nevada
- #180 The Warm Springs Hotel and Nevada State Prison
- #181 Washoe Indians
- #193 Historic Flume and Lumberyard
- #194 Gardner’s Ranch
- #196 The United States Mint Carson City, Nevada
- #213 Lakeview
- #235 Camp Nye
- #243 Corbett-Fitzsimmon Fight
- #250 State Printing Building
- #252 Rinckel Mansion
- #258 Charles W. Friend House, Observatory & Weather Station
- #259 The Governor’s Mansion
Click here to view the full list of Nevada State Historical Markers.
County
GPS Coordinates
Nevada Historical Marker Transcription
This is the site of the house and observatory of Nevada’s first weatherman, astronomer, and seismologist, Charles William Friend. Born in Prussia in 1835, Friend immigrated by way of South America to California during the 1849 Gold Rush. In 1867, he moved from Folsom to Carson City where he set up his own jewelery and optical store.
Friend built Nevada’s first observatory located southwest of his house and east of the Nevada State Capitol. Nevada’s U.S. Senator William Stewart helped him obtain the use of a six-inch equatorial mount telescope and other instruments from the federal government.
Charles Friend also established Nevada’s first weather service. In 1887, the Nevada Legislature passed authorization for a weather service station in Carson City. Friend became its director and created volunteer weather stations throughout the state. He compiled the data into reports that are still referenced today.
Charles W. Friend died in 1907. Since his death, the Association of Weather Services has recognized him as a pioneer in weather service west of the Rockies.
STATE HISTORIC MARKER No. 258
STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE, NEVADA STATE MUSEUM, THE BRETZLAFF FOUNDATION,
NEVADA STATE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES, THE CARSON CITY HERITAGE COALITION
BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS