09/27/2026
If anyone is still thinking about attending, here are the Reunion details.
(as of September 27, 2026)
For the various paid events for the weekend, please remember to bring your confirmation sheet with you. The confirmation page also indicates which meals you have ordered for these events. It is critically important that you take the meal type you ordered as the committee has ordered based on your selection.
All of the events and meetings for the weekend will be held in the Mandalay Ballroom and adjacent rooms, located in the lower level of the Circus Circus Hotel. This space is separate from the casino itself and has been set aside exclusively for our group.
Wednesday, October 14
Nothing formal is scheduled for this day. Registration will be open from 6:00-9:00 p.m. People will gather to socialize. You will receive nametags and lanyards and we ask that you try to wear your nametags all weekend so that other cousins can spot you in the hotel and places you may travel in the area.
Thursday, October 15
Registration will open at 7:30 a.m. and will run until 9:00 a.m. Those taking the Thursday bus tour will meet on the 5th Street side of the hotel to board the buses. Please arrive no later than 9:15 a.m. as the plan is to depart promptly at 9:30. There will be two buses. Please stay on the same bus for the duration of the day so that we can track headcount, although we do recommend changing up your seats to meet new people.
We will arrive at Donner Memorial State Park at approximately 10:15. Bus One will immediately head to the movie theater for an introductory movie about the park. Bus Two will wander through the curated display at the museum and can visit the memorial near the museum for pictures and views. Bus Two will enter the movie at 10:45, releasing Bus One to walk the grounds. The theater will be tight for seating everyone, so those that can stand along the edges are asked to do so. And viewing the movie is not required – some people may just want more time on the grounds and with the displays. Our plan is to depart Donner Pass at 11:15.
From there the buses will travel down beautiful Lake Tahoe. We have adjusted our stop and will arrive at Cave Rock State Park at about 12:15, a beautiful location with a panoramic view of the lake to the north and south. Lunches will be distributed upon arrival, including one bottle of water. (We are happy to share that we have contracted with Panera for both bus trips for the lunches.) The park has a smattering of picnic tables and other areas to sit for lunch. We plan to depart Cave Rock at 1:30.
We should arrive in Virginia City about 2:30 with our train ride scheduled to depart at 3:00 p.m. St. Paul the Prospector Church is about a block away on F Street from the train station, so you can visit this before or after the train ride as it will be open in the afternoon. This is where the Association sponsored a memorial plaque to Abe Edgington, a Blackburn cousin and a founder of the church. The train ride will be over about 3:30, but our buses will not depart until 4:30. This
gives family members about an hour to walk around historic Virginia City. The Edgington mansion was at 66 B St, but this mansion and others on that street are mostly gone. The Historic District is along C Street. (From previous reunions we have also learned that family members like a little time to shop and wander.) With our 4:30 departure, we will return to the hotel at 5:30.
Thursday Waiting List Information: There has been some movement on the waiting list, but most of the movement on that list has already happened. People do miss the bus because of delayed flights or other issues, so please be ready on standby at the bus loading area if your spot has not been confirmed before then. (Those who have moved off the waiting list to the bus have already been advised, so if you have had no word you remain on the list.) People will be boarded off standby based on their order on the reservation list. Again, refunds will be provided for those who are unable to board. If you decide to rent a car or otherwise travel on your own, please do not follow the bus schedule – Donner Memorial will be packed and parking at the railroad station will be full. Perhaps do a reverse schedule. Meeting the buses at Cave Rock at lunchtime, however, would work out great, with waiting list travelers have to make arrangements for their own lunch. There is plenty of parking there and travelers can arrive earlier or stay later as they choose.
Back at the hotel, registration will be open from 6:30-9:30 p.m. and the Mandalay rooms will be a bit more festive and active. There will be a cash bar there (no food) with hard and soft beverages. The attendee list will be displayed along the reception area walls and folks can figure out who their closest cousins are – and figure out how you are related to people you met earlier in the day. Folks are welcome to come and go throughout the evening.
Friday, October 16
Registration will be open from 7:30-8:30 a.m. Please be at the bus boarding area no later than 8:45 if you are taking the bus tour on Friday as we need to leave by 9:00. We have three buses for Friday, so all the more important that you pick your bus for the day and stick to it. (We know the tendency is to travel on the bus with immediate family members, but history tells us that breaking away from siblings and first cousins to meet new people is very rewarding.) The same boarding process as noted above will be followed relative to those on the wait list.
We will arrive in Carson City at 9:40 a.m. and will be dropped off at the Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. The local sheriff has scheduled a program on our behalf to honor the legacy of the first sheriff of the Nevada Territory – John L. Blackburn. Locals will then es**rt us across the street to the original site of the St. Nicholas Saloon & Hotel where our family has installed a plaque to honor Sheriff Blackburn, this being the site where he was knifed down in the line of the duty – the first said officer to fall in the State of Nevada. As we leave town we will drive past the Pioneer Cemetery where Blackburn was buried, congestion not really allowing us to stop and deboard.
From there we plan to arrive at Mormon Station State Park about 11:45 a.m. The buses will stop just before Mormon Station to deboard family members at the original site of where Abner Blackburn and his brother Thomas established the first trading post in Nevada. (There is only an historical marker here and the walk to Mormon Station itself is about 0.8 miles from the marker.) The buses will continue with those onboard who choose not to get off and avoid the walk. Lunch distribution will begin with that first group arriving and will continue with the walkers as they arrive. Docents there to assist with our visit will be aided by having a flow from our group. Across the street from Mormon Station is the Douglas County Courthouse, now part of the local
historical society. The Courthouse will be open and local historians have created an exhibit specifically highlighting our Blackburn family members who made history in that area.
We will leave Mormon Station no later than 1:45, arriving in Dayton, Nevada by 2:30, the site where gold was discovered in 1849 – that discovery being credited to Abner Blackburn. The Dayton Valley Historical Society will greet us and break up our large group into several smaller groups to walk around the area. Many years ago the Blackburn Family Association was a sponsor of a plaque placed in town to honor Abner, so we will visit that as well as get a feel for this historic town. We will leave Dayton at 4:00 so we can return to the hotel by 5:00.
Friday Waiting List Information: The waiting list for Friday is a bit shorter, but we again ask that family members not follow the bus by car. That said, joining the family in Carson City in the morning would be a rewarding experience because of the planned program. Drivers could stop by the Pioneer Cemetery (508 Terrace St) on their own, but we ask that they perhaps head to Dayton rather than Mormon Station as Genoa (home of the park) will be highly congested and confusing. You might want to grab lunch at the Odeon Saloon (circa 1863) in Dayton and visit the gold discovery memorial (Dayton Justice Court Building, near 235 Main St.). From there you could travel to Mormon Station in Genoa, arriving after 2:00 p.m. – rangers will still be there.
Registration on Friday night will start at 6:00 p.m. and run until about 9:00 p.m. There will again be a cash bar (no food) and things will be even more active as those arriving for the rest of the weekend will have come into town. There is no specific agenda and, again, folks can come and go throughout the evening.
Saturday, October 17
Registration on Saturday morning will open up at 8:00 a.m. and will run for about an hour, but people will probably be manning the registration table for nametag and t-shirt pickup throughout the morning.
At 9:00 a.m. we will begin an informal family history session in the adjacent ballroom. Family members will guide us through what we know about our Blackburn ancestors, from their known days in Ireland to their immigration story to their settlement in Pennsylvania. Myths and stories will be explored and clarified. And lots of unknowns will be put forth to encourage further exploration and research. Come with your questions. The best part about this session when we did it in Wilmington were the questions!
During the morning session we will also walk through the Blackburn Family Association website, providing you with an orientation of what is on the site and how to find helpful resources on that site. Bringing your laptop or other devices might be helpful to follow along with some of the discussion. The intent is not to do a deep dive, but to let you know what is out there for further exploration. We will also talk a little bit about the good work of the Association and our historic preservation efforts.
At about 11:30 we will turn the morning session over to a couple of family members that will focus specifically on the history of Thomas and Elizabeth (Bowen) Blackburn, they being the ancestors of many of the pioneers who traveled west along the Mormon Trail, including Abner Blackburn.
Family members will have the afternoon free to enjoy Reno and the surrounding area. Registration will open back up again at 6:00 pm and will be open for about an hour. The doors
will open for the evening at 6:45 with a social hour. Dinner will be served about 7:30, so don’t seat yourself too early and miss the opportunity to socialize. Dress suggestion would be “business casual.” We will have a program at about 8:15. Stay and linger as long as you like after dinner as the socializing will continue. Tables for dinner will not be assigned. And, find ways to sit with new cousins.
Sunday, October 18
Registration will open at 8:30 am and last until about 9:15. The Association will be hosting a Quaker meeting for worship at 9:30 am, to be led by members of Reno Friends Meeting. The format of Quaker meetings are fairly ecumenical and open to anyone from any faith tradition. Just like our ancestors 350 years ago, Friends gather in silence. Those led to speak out of the silence may do so, but worship is not meant to be interactive dialogue. Reno Friends will set the stage for the meeting. There will be a Sunday School teacher available for the young people. Meeting will last for one hour, after which there will be a social hour and a chance for reunion attendees to say goodbye – until next time. (For those departing on Sunday, you are welcome to bring your luggage to Mandalay rooms.)
Please feel free to share this agenda of activities with other family members who might be considering joining us for some point over the weekend. We have some people just stopping by one event and others attending every event. It would be helpful to have names of attendees in advance so we can add them to the attendee list, but last-minute visitors are also welcome. We will be giving a headcount for the dinner about a week in advance, but sometimes the kitchens can accommodate last-minute additions, so it doesn’t hurt to ask.
If you have any questions contact: [email protected] or 248-761-1193.
Travel Tips:
Hydrate: These cities in western Nevada are at a high altitude and are dry. You might want to bring along extra water as you travel, or some other beverage.
Bathrooms: The buses will have bathrooms. State Park bathrooms should be available. The train station and visitor centers also have bathrooms.
Weather: We hope to have some beautiful sunny days, but evenings could be chilly. Temperatures will also be cooler as elevations rise.
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