Donors earn Park Ranch endowment gift for Dangberg

The 2020 fundraising campaign benefitting the nonprofit that cares for the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park recently achieved a significant goal after supporters gave more than $54,000. The donations were enough to earn a $50,000 challenge donation from Park Ranch. 

The achievement is part of the 2020 Capital Campaign, launched last winter by Friends of Dangberg Home Ranch, that continues through the end of the year. The nonprofit operates the park in cooperation with its owner, Douglas County.

“We’re glad to support the work of Friends of Dangberg,” said David Park of Park Ranch. “Saving and sharing Carson Valley’s history is important, particularly the history of ranching and ranching families.”

A generous donation made by Don and Dorothy Schumaker helped earn match, just one day before the deadline. Earlier in the campaign, Dick and Wanda Canton also pledged a generous donation that was successfully matched and also helped earn the Park Ranch challenge. Throughout 2020, more than 250 individuals or couples have contributed.

The Park Ranch contribution and the donations that earned it places Friends of Dangberg within reach of achieving the campaign’s twin goals: $100,000 to fund critical repairs of the park’s historic structures, as well as $100,000 to grow the organization’s endowment.

The group has raised $70,617 for restoration work so far in the campaign, along with $65,816 for the endowment, leaving 30 percent of the goal remaining. A final effort in early December will ask for the community’s help to fund critical restoration needs and preserve the site’s historic legacy.

“The trustees and I can’t thank Park Ranch, the Schumakers, the Cantons, and everyone else who donated enough,” said Mark Jensen, director of Friends of Dangberg. “We’re always humbled by such generosity, and value everyone’s donations, large or small—it shows the community supports this effort.”

Park Ranch owns the pastures surrounding the county-owned park. As a result of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, 1,373 acres of this agricultural landscape and viewshed is planned for preservation. Once finalized, use of that land will be permanently limited to agricultural purposes, preserving the historic park’s setting.

Friends of Dangberg is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and donations may be made at Dangberg.org, or sent to Friends of Dangberg, PO Box 1158, Minden, NV 89423. The Home Ranch Endowment is professionally managed by Community Foundation of Western Nevada.

Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park preserves the home of Heinrich and Margaret Dangberg and their descendants, a prominent ranching family that founded Minden in 1905. The park includes eight historic structures, built 1857-1917, that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and an extensive collection of original artifacts, documents and photographs.

Projects completed by the non-profit to-date include restoration of the ranch house’s brick walls, repair of damaged interiors, new trees and other significant landscaping improvements, and installation of interpretive signage. The organization’s public programs include guided history tours and special exhibits, with two-dozen arts and culture events presented each summer. More than 500 members make annual contributions to support its operation.