Next time you drive past Mormon Station State Historic Park, keep an eye peeled for a small, white, garage-looking structure just north of the stockade. When Mormon Station acquired the 1.2-acre property adjacent to the Fort in 2002, that’s exactly what they thought this small building was: just a “barn or garage.” Initial estimates dated it to […]
Treasure Out of Tragedy: A Tiny Reminder of Genoa’s Avalanche
Call it the Hand of Providence. How else to explain a fragile ceramic figurine surviving one of the worst disasters to hit Genoa, Nevada — and making it through another 132 years, too?! As you may remember, the Great Avalanche of March 17, 1882 wiped out several Genoa homes — and took at least ten lives. […]
Gardnerville’s Big Yellow House
Have you ever driven by the two-story Yellow House at the “S” Bend in Gardnerville? It’s not quite a mansion. Technically, according to the plaque out front, the style is “Vernacular with Eastlake Details.” Well, whatever. For Gardnerville, it’s a mansion! We’ve always been curious about the history of this beautiful house. So we started to dig a […]
There’s More to the Lillian Virgin Finnegan Story!
Sure, you’ve probably heard of Lillian Virgin Finnegan — one of the founders of the famous Genoa Candy Dance! But here are a few things you probably haven’t heard about this hometown Genoa gal. Lillian was born in Genoa on October 6, 1878, to parents Daniel W. Virgin and the former Mary Raycraft. Older brother William had […]
The Amazing Tale of Agnes Train
She was a woman very much ahead of her time. A talented artist, author, botanist, and fossil collector, Agnes Train served as the first curator of the Nevada State Museum in 1941. And oh yes, from 1939 to 1956, she was also the owner of Genoa’s Pink House (with husband Percy), […]
The East Fork School in early Nevada
As early as 1876, a small schoolhouse was serving pupils in the East Fork School District, south of Gardnerville, Nevada. Parents were so unhappy with the school’s location, however, that a vote was held that year to compel its removal to “a more central” spot. Back then, folks thought nothing of dismantling an entire building […]
Battle of the Titans
Dangberg vs. Lucky Bill: One of them won the first round. The other got the last laugh. 1856 Was a Tough Year . . . . Where’s that “Wayback” machine when you need it?! It’s difficult to be rock-solid certain you’ve separated fact from fiction after more than 160 years have passed. But if there […]
The Story of Kermit Neddenriep
Put July 26th on your calendar. Three-quarters of a century ago on that same date, our community lost a local son. The year was 1944. The place: somewhere near San Romano, Italy. Europe was convulsing in the final, ugly months of World War II. Kermit Neddenriep had been cooped up in a foxhole for several days with his […]
The Old Ferris Ranch House
Just one lonely image, captured by Juanita Schubert in the 1940s. That was all that was left of the old Ferris House in Carson Valley. Or so we thought. But wait! Locals informed us the old Ferris home still exists — the house was moved in the 1940s, and now sits off Stockyard Road, a […]
Peters Station on Old Kingsbury Grade
Halfway up Kingsbury Grade once stood an early hotel known as Peters Station. If you were a teamster, this was the place to stop! Situated on a flat spot at a big bend in the trail, Peters Station was a welcome oasis where men and animals alike could eat, drink, and rest from their labors […]
Stories of the Fairview School – Part 2
We left off last time with the story of a funny Halloween prank played on old-time rancher Abednego John. (If you missed it, you can find that tale in Part 1, here!) The original Fairview School, as you’ll remember, sat at the mouth of Fay-Luther canyon. But roughly twenty years later, a new and improved, […]
Stories of the Fairview School
We still don’t know exactly when the first schoolhouse was built at Fairview, Nevada. But it had to be sometime before 1875 — because that’s the year teacher Ella S. Lane became known as the “Heroine of Fairview School District”! And a well-deserved honor it was. Here’s the tale: Like most buildings of the day, the […]