Tours allow visitors to step into Carson Valley past

The opening of tour season at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park gives the opportunity to see how four generations of a Carson Valley family lived.

The special exhibit of "Dangberg Short Stories" is open noon to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Park tours tell the history of the Dangbergs through the collection of furniture, clothing, books, dishes, artwork, photographs, and documents left in the house and grounds off Highway 88 in Minden.

The park features a bunkhouse, and other buildings constructed between 1857 and 1916. The 15-room main house, once one of the most prominent homes in Carson Valley, is on the National Registry of Historic Places. The house, stone cellar, laundry building and garden are included in tours.

"The Dangbergs are representatives of Nevada ranching families," said Park Interpreter Mark Jensen, one of the presenters of the "Dangberg Short Stories" exhibit represented by several themes in different rooms of the house.

"The sitting room is the original cabin," said Jensen. "Now the 'Story of Flight' will be represented in this room on tours."

"Stories of Patriotism" about the Civil War and the World Wars are told through correspondence, photographs and other artifacts in the living room.

In the dining room are souvenirs and photographs from three world's fairs in the "Stories from the Midway" exhibit.

The "Stories of Gertrude's Garden" exhibit shows the progress volunteers have made to restore the flower beds created by Gertrude Dangberg, who lived 1876-1968.

Jensen said the exhibit features vintage gardening tools, plant catalogs and family photographs showing how her garden looked in the past.

"One of the goals in the restoration process is to recreate Gertrude's garden as it would have been in the 1930s and '40s," he said.

The restoration process is helped by historic photographs of the garden, plant catalogues left by family members and plants that survived on the grounds over the years.

The garden still has daffodils, peonies, crabapple trees and lilacs that originally grew there, and park staff and volunteers have added hyacinths, tulips, iris and other plants. Plants and supplies have been donated by Gardnerville's Plant It Nursery.

"With the support of Plant It Nursery, we'll create not only an effective demonstration garden and interpretive tool, but also a thing of beauty," said Jensen.

"The park's collection isn't just about the Dangbergs. Many others who spent time at the home ranch or were otherwise connected with the family left behind their own fascinating stories, and this exhibit is our chance to share some of them."