History and holidays at Dangberg Historic Park

Home Ranch for the Holidays, a celebration of the season that features an antique toy exhibit alongside clothing, letters, photographs, and other artifacts from Nevada’s past, returns to Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in December.

An open house weekend launches the event 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 3-4. The public can visit at any time during those hours, with volunteers on hand to share the history of the family, house, and artifacts. The event includes expanded access into the various rooms of Douglas County’s only historic house museum, built 1857-1917. Members of Friends of Dangberg Home Ranch are special guests at the weekend open house and enter for free, with a donation requested from non-members.

Then, from Dec. 6-11 and 12-18, the exhibit will be open by appointment, when visitors will be lead on a special guided tour of the ranch house. These tours last approximately 45 minutes, with a fee of $5 for members, $10 for non-member adults, and free for all youth 16 and younger. Tour reservations can be made by calling 775-783-9417; group sizes are limited to eight people.

The exhibit’s displays include toys from the 1870s through the 1890s that were played with by Fred Dangberg and his siblings, the children of ranch rounder Heinrich F. Dangberg and his wife, Margaret Ferris Dangberg. Other toys in the exhibit were enjoyed by two more generations: Fred’s five children and then a grandson, from 1900 through the 1940s. Construction toys, board games, card games and other items invite nostalgia for older folks and historical interest for younger.

A Christmas tree featuring the Dangberg family’s ornaments is on display in the living room, with additional holiday decorations though the house. Displays of vintage Christmas cards, elegant winter coats, fine china and additional items from the Home Ranch artifact collection will also help celebrate the season.

New this year is a display of letters from the late 1890s sent by young Fred Dangberg to his future wife, Gertrude Hironymous, along with other interesting items from the pair’s early years of marriage as one of Carson Valley’s leading couples.

The park’s store will be open throughout the event, with a selection of jewelry, history books, photo notecards, and other gifts for adults and children.

From December 19 through January 9, the ranch house will be closed. During that time, and as always, the Home Ranch is a Douglas County park and the grounds are open for daytime uses, such as family photography, bird watching, and picnicking.

The park is located at 1450 Hwy 88, ¾ mile south of the high school roundabout. For more information, visit Dangberg.org