Dangberg company checks and other antique financial documents from Douglas County and other parts of Nevada will be on display during the Dangberg Historic Park's annual holiday exhibit.
Home Ranch for the Holidays, a celebration of the season that features an antique toy exhibit alongside vintage clothing and other unique artifacts from Nevada’s past, returns to Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in December.
An open house weekend launches the event on Friday-Sunday, December 6-8, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. each day. The public can visit at any time during those hours, with volunteer docents on hand to share the history of the family, house, and artifacts. The event includes access into the various rooms of Douglas County’s only historic house museum, built 1857-1917 and lived in through the 1980s.
Members of the non-profit Friends of Dangberg Home Ranch are special guests at the weekend open house and enter for free, as do youth aged 16 and younger. A $5 donation is requested from non-member adults.
Then, from December 11-22, the exhibit will be open as part of special guided tours through the ranch house. These tours last approximately one hour and are free for Friends of Dangberg members and youth aged 8-16, and $10 for non-member adults. Tour reservations are required and can be made by calling 775-783-9417. Tour group sizes are limited to eight people. Children younger than eight are welcome at the weekend open house, but are not permitted on the guided tours.
The exhibit’s displays include toys from the 1870s through the 1890s that were played with by Fred Dangberg and the other children of ranch rounder Heinrich F. Dangberg and his wife, Margaret Ferris Dangberg. Other toys in the exhibit were enjoyed by two more generations of Dangbergs from 1900 through the 1940s.
This year’s display features an exhibit of fine Washo basketry and cradleboards found in the Dangberg collection. Also new this year are features showing photographs, letters, and documents related to the well-known Ferris family of Ferris Wheel fame, as well as newly acquired Dangberg company checks and other financial documents that give insight into the scope of ranch life in the 1910s and 1920s.
A Christmas tree featuring the Dangberg family’s ornaments is on display in the living room, with additional holiday decorations though the house. Elegant winter coats, fine china, and other items from the Home Ranch’s extensive artifact collection also help celebrate the season.
The special sale in the park’s store will be open throughout the event, with discounts on a selection of jewelry, history books, souvenirs, photo notecards, and other gifts for adults and children.
The park is located at 1450 Hwy 88. For more information, visit Dangberg.org.
