Dangberg interpreter speaks in Gardnerville Thursday

The artifacts in the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park give clues into the history of the family and to the history of Carson Valley.

Park interpreter Mark Jensen discusses the Dangberg Home Ranch at the Douglas County Historical Society's free lecture series, 7 p.m. Thursday, at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center, 1477 Highway 395, Gardnerville.

Jensen will give a slide presentation of images from the collection and tell stories about the Dangberg family.

"The images are of how we found the house when we took it over in 2005 and how it is today," said Jensen. "I'll give an introduction to the Dangberg family and their importance to Carson Valley history " and how they were just your regular old neighbors down the road."

The presentation includes photos of interior views of the house from decades past. The Dangberg homestead started with a log cabin built by H.F. Dangberg Sr. and developed into the home on Highway 88 just south of Minden.

Now the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park operated by the Nevada Division of State Parks, the house was occupied by the family from 1857 to 1995.

"In that space of time there were different styles of furniture and decorations," said Jensen. "The collection includes key pieces that the family had out for a number of years. For our tours, we put out artifacts that tell a story, like toys at Christmas."

Jensen was hired in 2005 as an independent contractor to inventory and catalog artifacts for the architectural firm that worked at the Dangberg historical site.

He was hired as park interpreter for the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in Nevada's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Division in 2008.

Jensen has a master's degree in American history and was archivist at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, where he worked in special collections of Mormon history and Olympic history.

Jensen said people share their recollections about the Dangberg family and their artifacts during the interpretive tours he leads at the historic park.

"So many people know more than I do and I'm learning more all the time," he said. "In the presentation, I want to show there's a connection between the items on-site and lives in the community."

The free lecture series is sponsored by the Douglas County Historical Society on the second Thursday of the month.

The museum and the Main Street Book Store will be open before and following the one-hour lecture. Information, 782-2555.