Five historic Nevada buildings added to national register

RENO -- The Gardnerville jail is one of five historic northern Nevada buildings added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The jail, a small, two-story cement building, was built in 1910 to serve eastern Douglas County. When the Genoa Courthouse and jail burned down that year, it became the only law enforcement facility in Douglas County until Minden was named the new county seat in 1915, and a new courthouse and jail were built there.

The Town of Gardnerville leases the building from the county and plans to open a law enforcement museum in it.

Also in the register are Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Fallon, Fernley Community Church, and Reno's Field Matron's Cottage and the Patrick Ranch House.

"They all played some significant role in local history," said Mella Harmon, an architectural historian with the state Historic Preservation Office. "They visually convey their historical importance."

The five are among more than 300 Nevada buildings listed in the national register and among more than 200 in a similar state register.

The ranch house, which is considered a fine example of Folk Victorian architecture, was built about 1900. The 160-acre Patrick Ranch, also known as the Arlington Ranch, was parceled over the years into various subdivisions that now comprise the Newlands neighborhood.

Also making the national register:

--The Field Matron's Cottage at the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, which was built about 1926. The small stone cottage was home to a U.S. Indian Service employee who provided instruction in sanitation and taught American Indian girls housekeeping.

--The Fernley Community Church, which was founded in 1932. The building originally served as a schoolhouse when it was bought from the McColloch Ranch and moved into town, where it became Fernley's first church.

--The Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Fallon, which was built in 1907. The church reflects the growth and prosperity of the community after the Newlands Irrigation Project paved the way for agriculture there in 1903.

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On the Net: National Register of Historic Places:

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