Occasionally I come across an unexpected site. Last fall after dropping my daughter off at horse camp I decided to head to Washoe Valley and kill some time exploring the Franktown area. While trying to find my way around closed roads my GPS insisted were open, I stumbled across a park with several older structures. Fortunately saving me research time, a plaque identified the site as the Twaddle-Pedroli Ranch.
National Register of Historic Places Plaque
John Twaddle purchased 630 acres near Franktown in 1869 for $5,000. Twaddle retained the ranch for sixteen years before selling to Italian speaking Swiss brothers Stefano and Anselmo Pedroli for $3,000.
After buying out his brother, Stefano opened a dairy. He supplied miners in the Virginia City and Comstock Lode with fresh milk and cheese.
The ranches most famous visitor was Elenore Roosovelt. The former first lady visited the ranch in 1943 with her friend an political activist Gertrude Pratt. Pratt had been staying at the ranch to establish the residency required to file for divorce.
First Lady Elenore Roosevelt
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Over the years the ranch changed hands several times. To avoid commercial development, the ranch was purchased by Washoe County Parks in 1986 with the understanding it would become Wilsons Commons Park. The park consists of 25 acres with 5 acres comprised of the ranch.
The main house was not considered historically significant and was demolished in 1998. The remaining structures included a horse barn, chicken house, dairy house, bunk house, tack house, and a privy and were placed on the National Register Historic Places in 2000. The Little Valley Fire in 2016 destroyed many of the remaining structures.
Twaddle-Pedroli Ranch is a quick side trip when visiting Bowers Mansion, Washoe City, Mill Station, Ophir and of course the always popular Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory.
Visited 10-25-2020
References
- Historic Places: Twaddle-Pedroli Ranch
- Washoe Valley Alliance: Washoe Valley Nevada State Scenic Byway
- Wikipedia: Twaddle-Pedroli Ranch
Steve says
Amazon find and research. Thank you so much. Your incredible
Tami says
Thanks, always fun to wander and find something cool.
ALLEN COPELAND says
Hi, I bought the only house on Mill Station Ranch Rd. We were told the stone retaining walls were from the 1800’s, and that a pile of red bricks were from a building/mill that use to be on the property as well. I found a 4 inch pipe sticking out of the side of the hill that looks like it goes to a phantom building/well/whatever 200-300ft behind the house. If you have any other info on this property I would be really grateful.