Media information on the new western history exhibit

Sin in the Sagebrush is one of the most in-depth exhibits examining the lives of those who sought opportunity, fortune and community on the Western frontier. Understand how trappers, tracklayers, buckaroos, sheepherders and other workers’ dreams were replaced with lonely, harsh lives, and how they found community and escape in saloons, gambling halls and bordellos. In this multi-sensory exhibit, visitors can step up to an 1880s roulette table, game of faro, chuck-a-luck or poker, and take in the cheating devices and refined attire of a professional gambler, as well as the bowie knife and derringer he might use when challenged. The exhibit also features live, authentic portrayals of those who worked at these establishments, including the “sporting men” running the games (they’ll invite you to play – and even reveal how to cheat). Ask the saloonkeeper, and “working women” of the night how they fell into their professions, and discover the human stories behind the stereotypes. This exhibit is no longer on display at the High Desert Museum. It is scheduled to travel to other venues in the west in 2011. Scheduled exhibits will be posted to this site. This website is designed to provide journalists with information, background, story ideas, images and video to facilitate coverage of this groundbreaking exhibit.