Mark Jensen
When Mark Jensen started working on the Dangberg Home Ranch he was still an employee of the Nevada Division of State Parks based out of Mormon Station.
On Tuesday, Jensen announced that he was leaving the middle of this month to take a position as executive director of the Glenwood Springs Historical Society in Colorado.
“I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished to preserve the Dangberg family’s history and the artifacts and buildings that help tell many stories, and proud of the generous support—your generous support—that’s been given in time, dollars, and encouragement,” Jensen said in a letter to the Friends of the Dangberg Home Ranch.
Friends of Dangberg are seeking donations at www.Dangberg.org to the Home Ranch Endowment Fund in Jensen’ honor.
Turning the home ranch into a museum dedicated to Douglas County agriculture had been a longtime goal that predated Jensen’s arrival in May 2005.
The Home Ranch has been owned by the county since 1999. The state took over operation of the ranch, working on restoration for years before it opened. The proposal to operate it as a museum dates back to 1978 when the entire Dangberg Ranch was sold.
Two decades ago, when the work was just getting started, The Record-Courier toured the home ranch and spoke with Dr. Michael Fischer, one of five original Friends of the Home Ranch.
The former county commissioner and Chautauquan was confident the home ranch would re-emerge and that the Friends would grow with it.
The Home Ranch opened as a state park in 2007, and Jensen served as chief interpreter.
When the state decided it didn’t have the wherewithal to keep operating the park, Jensen stayed with the ranch when the nonprofit Friends of Dangberg Home Ranch took charge of it on July 1, 2011.
“Leaving will be painful, but it is my time,” he said. “Please take care of the Home Ranch. It is a treasure worth preserving and sharing.”
In the last 20 years the Friends have grown from just five members to 560, who have contributed $1.3 million since they took it over 14 years ago.
He told Douglas County commissioners on Thursday that the ranch has received numerous grants, including $270,000 last year.
There has been an endowment fund dedicated to the park, which has seen 4,618 visitors, of whom 2,263 turned out for cultural events.
On Thursday, commissioners approved accepting a $75,900 state grant to have an architect evaluate and prepare a plan to refurbish the old Dangberg bunkhouses.
“They aren’t open to the public because they are not a safe structure,” Community Services Director Brook Adie said.
The county spends about $100,000 a year to maintain the grounds and the buildings at the home ranch and contributes $15,000 a year to the Friends.
Commissioner Nate Tolbert said Jensen was one of the very few people who had the history of the home ranch in his head.
“It’s a jewel of the Valley,” Tolbert said of the Home Ranch.