A Sketch of Washoe Valley History
Natural History
We have to start millions of years ago when Nevada, Utah and some of Idaho, Oregon and California were covered by an inland sea. Sea shell fossils can still be found east of Carson City and Ichthyosaur Berlin State Park in central Nevada is home to a fossilized dinosaur fish display. That is a great trip, but back to the story.
Nevada since then is characterized as “Basin and Range” typography. Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state. The vast majority are arranged north to south. This is because as plate tectonics occurred, Nevada was stretched east to west. This caused the valleys to fall into the new space creating the mountains as they rose. The vast multi-state region mentioned above is also known as The Great Basin. This is because any rain that falls here remains here and does not flow to an ocean. This includes Lake Tahoe so technically that Sierra lake is in the Great Basin.
Washoe Valley is at the extreme west of this phenomena. We have the Carson Range to the west that is a spur of the Sierra Nevadas and the Virginia Range to the east. The mountains are principally made up of granite. Our granite is composed of several minerals and one, feldspar, dissolves with exposure to the atmosphere. Thus the granite “decomposes” over time to form sand. Over the millennia, this sand has flowed downhill and filled Washoe Valley. Evidence of this sand is present along the east shore of Washoe Lake on the beach and the dunes.
Now, several streams from the Carson Range and a few seasonal streams from the Virginia Range flow into Washoe lake. This water overflows to the north into the wildlife refuge and then into Little Washoe Lake. That overflow goes through Washoe (or Pagni) Canyon through Pleasant Valley, Steamboat Valley, Truckee Meadows to it’s intersection with the Truckee River and then to Pyramid Lake. Pyramid Lake is a terminal lake meaning its waters do not go to an ocean but sink into the ground or evaporates. Or, in modern history, the excess water is used for civilization.
Native Americans
For thousands of years the area has been home to the western Paiute tribe and the Washoe tribe of Native Americans. They had a basic civilization, gathering roots and pine nuts, fishing and hunting. They moved their camps with the seasons, spending the summers at Lake Tahoe. We know they traded extensively with other western tribes as sea shell jewelry and ornaments have been found in a cave near Fallon to the east.
Pioneer Era
In the early 1800s mountain men, fur trappers and other accidental explorers of European descent may have come to the area but the first documented visit was by John C Fremont and his party in 1844. He may have seen Washoe Valley or skirted it to the south. He is credited with making the first note of Lake Tahoe from seeing it from a peak to the south near present day Highway 88 at Carson Pass.
Just a few years later, in 1849, gold was discovered in the Northern California foothills and this started a stampede of gold seekers from the east and around the world. One of the routes west took the emigrants from near Fallon along the Carson River to where Carson City is now. The route turned south, past present day Genoa and up through Hope Valley to near Placerville. Again, some may have ventured north to see Washoe Valley but accounts are vague.
The first settlers of Washoe Valley may have been the Mormons from the Church of Latter Day Saints based in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. They were charged by the leader in Salt Lake City to push west and colonize to expand the Mormon territory. Several set up ranches in Washoe Valley.
Other non-Mormons abandoned the gold seeking and set up farms and ranches to the immediate south in Eagle Valley where Carson City is now located. The federal government allowed the Mormons to govern the area in the area of Utah Territory as it was called. This mix of federal, religious, and due to the distance, no practical government, caused local animosity for several years.
Eventually all Mormons were called back to present day Utah in 1858. The Washoe Valley Mormons were forced to sell their ranches for what they could get. The non Mormons, knowing the situation payed pennies on the dollar. The local Mormon leader, Orson Hyde had built a splendid ranch on the west side of Washoe Valley complete with hayfields and a sawmill. He had to practically give it away. On his way out he issued a famous curse on Washoe Valley and its inhabitants.
Discovery of the Comstock Lode
It’s now nearly 1860 and more settlers are moving into the valley and refining land holdings. Just over the mountains to the east a great change is brewing. In the rush to California some of the emigrants paused near present day Dayton to rest. Some panned the stream coming down from what would come to be known as Gold Canyon. Some “color” was found but usually not enough to cause great excitement. Plus, by fall when most of the emigrants came through, water for mining was scarce. But over the next decade from 1849 to 1860 miners slowly worked their way up the canyon. Finally they passed up into an area of increasing gold but also a pesky blue clay that clogged their pans and sluices. Finally, a sample of the clay was taken by horseback over the mountains to the assayer at Grass Valley, California. The assay came back at an astounding value. The clay turned out to be high grade silver mixed with a lesser percentage of gold. A party of prominent citizens rode over to survey the new strike in the region known as “Washoe” after the local tribe.
Several of the local miners heard about the assay and quickly located claims on the mountainside in the area of present day Gold Hill and Virginia City. One of the men was named Comstock and thus the mineral lode became known as the Comstock Lode. Another had the nickname of “Ole Virginny” and that is the presumed reason the town is called Virginia City.
In 1860 word spread like wildfire and a “reverse gold rush” began. Many prospectors were disillusioned after 10 years in California. At first gold could be picked up from ravines and creek beds but that soon ended and arriving emigrants were faced with hard toil for chancy pay. Soon mining became industrialized and miners were soon working for wages. So when news of the new strike in the barrens of Nevada broke, many lit out for Washoe.
As in California, individual miners gave way to industrialists only much more quickly. Investors and speculators quickly schooled by the California Gold Rush swarmed the site buying up claims and consolidating operations. The financiers and engineers of large scale industrial mining in California soon took over.
Washoe Valley Supports The Comstock
One of the first mines to go large scale was the Ophir. Their vertical shaft soon began excavating tons of ore that needed to be processed to extract the silver and gold. That took fire and water both in very short supply in the dry, barren mountains of the Virginia Range. A wagon road was soon built to Washoe Valley as a toll road. Ore wagons from the Ophir and other mines would travel the 8 miles down to the valley. This was known as the Ophir Toll Road and is now known as Jumbo Grade. As many as 14 mills took advantage of the many streams entering the valley and the virgin timber in the hills. The Ophir firm built a causeway, or bridge, across the wetlands between Washoe Lake and Little Washoe Lake to an impressive large new mill built of native stone. A small village grew up around it called Ophir. A last remaining portion of a wall can still be seen on the east side of I-580 just south of the Franktown/Washoe City interchange.
Sawmills were established on the west side of the valley. More towns grew. Franktown south of Ophir and Mill City on the southwest corner of the valley. Washoe City on the north grew the biggest as it was a natural crossroads for all the northern routes to Virginia City. Teamsters hauled ore down and hay, lumber, firewood and supplies up to Virginia City. Ranchers in Washoe Valley and Carson Valley profited by growing hay, vegetables and cattle for the boomtown. During the Comstock period, Washoe Valley was home to several engineering marvels of the time. The invention of the “V” flume to transport wood down from the mountains is one. The inverted siphon water system that was completed in 1875 transported water from above Lake Tahoe over two mountain ranges and a valley to Virginia City without pumps was another.
Railroads Change the Dynamics
By 1865 the transcontinental railroad was completed through the Truckee Meadows to the north and the town of Reno was established at the river crossing there along the tracks. Named after a Union General of the Civil War, it soon grew as the Comstock’s quick connection to the outside world. Washoe City was deemed the county seat but Reno’s growth soon overtook it and it was moved there.
Further consolidation and industrialization of the Comstock took place with ownership, wealth and power being concentrated in a few powerbroker’s. They recognized the need for more processing capability and more transportation on the one hand and the long term potential of the lode. They decided to build a railroad from Virginia City to Carson City with a further extension to Reno passing through Washoe Valley. Later another extension was made to Minden/Gardnerville to the south. The Virginia and Truckee Railroad allowed the men to gain control of much of the region’s industry. Ore from the mines could now be transported economically to the Carson River where several large mills were built. Wood products and supplies were transported to the Comstock by the railroad. Many of the sawmills and timberlands came under the control of the group.
By this time, the timber supply in the Carson range was nearly exhausted and loggers moved on to the Lake Tahoe Basin for wood. The old growth forests around the lake were methodically cut and rafted across the lake to Glenbrook and Incline Village.
Return to Ranching
Washoe Valley lost its prominence and became focused on ranching and ranches with the mills and sawmills in decline and abandoned. At least two of the early “millionaires” of the Comstock bought property in the valley. Sandy and Eilley Bowers built Bowers Mansion on the west side, scouring Europe for finishings for their mansion. Their story is worthy of a future article. After the Bowers, the mansion and adjoining hot springs pools were a resort and eventually our current county historic park.
Theodore Winters bought a large portion of the northern valley south of Washoe City and built a gothic style mansion that also still stands. An avid race horse breeder, he also built a racetrack and a huge barn and stables. His horses became famous for winning major races on both coasts. The Virginia and Truckee would stop at his ranch load the horses on special cars and transport them to the east coast for racing events. Boosters in California tried to entice him to move his operation there naming the town of Winters after him. He bought some property there, but never moved there.
By 1900 the pioneers were passing their properties down or selling off. The Washoe Valley towns of Mill City, Franktown, Ophir, Washoe City and OphIr faded away. By the 1930s the mystique of the West was becoming popular as movies and novels romanticized the myth of the “Wild West” and the exciting frontier. Wealthy industrialists and businessmen in the east began coming west and establishing gentlemen’s ranches and large show properties. One of the most famous is Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley. Elsman was one who established what became known as the San Antonio Ranch south of Franktown. He made a big impression and even paid to have a power line extended to the ranch and offered its power to the other ranchers along its route.
Jumbo Ghost Town
The last great gold rush in the lower 48 states occurred in the Tonopah/Goldfield region of south central Nevada beginning in 1900. This created the largest metropolis in Nevada for a time there. The find created new interest and excitement in the mineral wealth of Nevada. Prospectors spanned the state to find any other undiscovered riches. In about 1907 some promising prospects were discovered along the the old Ophir Toll Road east of Washoe Valley. The mining district became known as Jumbo. A few years earlier, an elephant was brought to North America and put on tour Its name being Jumbo. Soon, Jumbo was a way to describe anything big and exciting. A town sprang up around several mines along the old road which now became known as Jumbo Grade. The usual bars, boarding houses, churches and a candy store grew up around the several mines in the district. They were all abandoned by 1920. Local Washoe Valley Photographer Gus Bundy captured the remains of buildings on the edge of collapse in about 1940. Nothing remains now but shards of glass, metal and pottery and the concrete foundation of a mill.
The Divorce Business
Nevada’s lenient divorce laws originated with the first statutes established when the territory was created in 1861. Only six weeks residency and a variety of grounds for divorce made splitting up much easier than in most other states. When wide open gambling was legalized in 1931, Reno with its recreation, nightlife, western lifestyle and remoteness appealed to many easterners who were escaping a bad marriage, publicity and scandal. Thus a new industry was born of hotels in Reno and dude ranches in the country to accommodate those achieving the residency requirement. Money poured into Nevada as the rich and others seeking divorce indulged themselves for six weeks.
Washoe Valley had a couple divorce dude ranches. One of the biggest was the Flying ME in Franktown, complete with a swimming pool, bar, stables and wranglers for leading trail rides. Bill McGee was one of the wranglers in the 1940s and 50s and wrote a book (The Divorce Seekers) about his experiences in Washoe Valley which is a great account of the history. Among other activities the ranch would transport the clientele to Virginia City for cocktail parties.
Famous Residents
The divorce trade introduced several prominent people to the charms of western Nevada. In the late 1920s, Christian Arthur Wellesley, Fourth Earl of Cowley, England, thus minor royalty, came to Reno for a divorce. Much like present day Prince Harry, he rejected a lifetime in British royalty, travelled to America, and brashly married an actress in New York. It didn’t work out and he came to Reno for a divorce. While here he met a local girl waitressing at a Reno diner and they fell in love and married immediately after his divorce. He also fell in love with Nevada and Washoe Valley and built a large English style farm in south Washoe Valley where they lived for many years. See the whole story at https://medium.com/western-nevada-memories
Ralph Elsman, eastern businessman, mentioned previously, also discovered Washoe Valley through a trip for a divorce.
Another famous Washoe Valley resident during this time was the western author and Artist Will James. He wrote from experience about cowboying in Nevada and his most famous book, Smoky, the Cow Horse, published in 1926, was read by millions in the era. He illustrated his own books and designed posters for the Reno Rodeo.
In 1939, Sylvan Famel, prominent French perfume manufacturer, and his family escaped pending war in Europe and purchased the Elsman Ranch. They planted extensive lavender fields in the south valley. After the war, they sold the ranch and returned to France.
From the 1930s through the 1960s Reno became a popular place for Hollywood celebrities to escape and also indulge their western interests. Clark Gable was one actor that has been named as visiting friends at their Washoe Valley ranch. The President’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, is also said to have visited friends at their ranch which she wrote about it in one of her national newspaper columns.
The 1970s entertainment duo of The Captain and Tennille had a home for a time in west Washoe Valley.
Greg LeMond the cycling legend and winner of the Tour de France three times, grew up in Washoe Valley and trained on the local roads and highways in the 1980s.
Natural Disasters
From the beginning of the Comstock era wildfires have not been uncommon in the hills around Washoe Valley. During a time when power, cooking, warmth and light all came from fire, they were not unusual. Woodcutters and anyone else available was pressed into service to fight them. More recently, a large fire in the early 1980s and again in the 1990s burned much of the hills around Lakeview to the southwest. More recently embers from a controlled burn took off in high winds and destroyed many acres of woodland, homes and historic sites leaving the bare hillsides on the southwest side of the valley.
On May 31, 1983, a large portion of Slide Mountain gave way in a massive landslide. The southeast slope, steep and made up of decomposing granite, became oversaturated with moisture and gave way and pushed into Price Lake halfway up the mountain. The water, combined with the debris, washed down the Ophir Creek Canyon and out onto the valley floor. Several homes were in the path. There were several injuries, close calls and one death. In the 1860s the writing legend Mark Twain visited Washoe Valley many times while he was a reporter at Virginia City’s Territorial Enterprise and remarked on a slide on the mountain in his day.
Floods have been not uncommon event too. In the 1880s a private dam above Franktown collapsed and destroyed much of the town. New Washoe City has had flash floods in 1986, 1991, 1997 and almost in 2017. The county has improved roadside ditches, culverts and creek beds over the years. A more detailed history of floods in Washoe Valley is here: https://medium.com/western-nevada-memories
The Modern Era
In recent history, as in many places, agriculture has given way to residential housing and the same is true in Washoe Valley. We are fortunate that large tracts of land in the mountains have always been public land and efforts have been made over the years to preserve many acres of natural valley land. In about 1960, the subdivision of New Washoe City was laid out on the east side of the lake. Designed as a equestrian community, the lots were large with riding easements. A shopping zone and schools and a park were planned. On the west side, Elsman’s old San Antonio Ranch was broken up and is now residential with a golf course, Toiyabe Golf Club. Problems in other parts of the county with contaminated wells have led to a change from 1 acre minimum lot size to 5 acres, limiting suburban density.
Also in the 1960s, the land for Washoe Lake State Park was obtained. The Scripps family, who owned a newspaper conglomerate and had a vacation home here bought and donated the marshland that is now the Scripps Wildlife Refuge from the Winters Ranch. Washoe County was able to establish four parks in the valley, including Bowers Mansion. Ranch land is still being purchased when available by the Nevada Land Trust and other entities. These events have given the valley the blessing of a great deal of open space and limits on development.
During the 2008 Reno housing boom, Plans were put forward to extend the Reno city limits to Washoe Valley. This would extend city water and sewer lines to the valley allowing high density development like we now see on the old ranches of south Reno. The residents of Washoe and Pleasant Valley fought vigorously against it and fortunately, the collapse of the mortgage industry and resulting recession ended those plans for now.
Washoe County was able to establish four parks in the valley, including Bowers Mansion and grounds. Some ranch owners have established conservation easements to protect their lands from development.
If you are a “new’ resident, welcome to a special place in Nevada. One where you can enjoy rural peace and quiet while only 15 minutes from two very entertaining towns. You can enjoy alpine forests to the west and desert explorations to the east. We have a public lake with sandy beaches and interesting dunes to explore. The dramatic nature beauty and recreation opportunities of the Eastern Sierra stretch out to the south. Solitude and wide open spaces beckon to the north. You’re very lucky to have discovered Washoe Valley.
References and further reading:
https://www.nevadalandtrust.org/
https://karlbreckenridge.com/2014/08/18/washoe-valleys-san-antonio-ranch/
https://thedivorceseekers.com/
Pioneers of the Ponderosa (out of print) Myra Ratay, Western Printing and Publishing, 1973.
https://medium.com/western-nevada-memories
