1005 Holcomb Ave, Reno, NV 89502

Holcomb Historic Site

Park Description:

Holcomb Historic Site is a 0.7-acre Reno park without restrooms.

Park Amenities:

Grassy area and historic marker.

Park Contact Information:

City of Reno - Parks & Facilities (775) 334-2417

Park Highlights

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Park History

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The Park

Sitting on a sliver of land between Holcomb Avenue and Center Street in Midtown, Holcomb Historic Site at first seems like nothing special with a few trees and a pretty flower bed. However, when you do some digging the park has a rich history that takes one back to the days of the Old West when ranches spanned across the Truckee Meadows and the V&T Railroad stretched from Reno to Virginia City via Carson City.

Rise of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad

The story of the V&T Railroad starts in 1869 when the line first connected Virginia City to Carson City, but work to run the railroad northward moved quickly after. A number of Chinese laborers graded this northward section during the summer of 1871. Track gangs commenced, laying rail south, reaching Steamboat Springs by late October. Nine months later, Superintendent Henry M. Yerington drove the last spike a mile west of Carson City on August 24, 1872, connecting Virginia City with Reno by rail. Although regularly scheduled passenger service didn’t begin until October 1, the first through train traversed the 52 mile route on September 1, 1872 with the last trains coming in on May 31, 1950.

The reason for the railroad to run from Virginia city to Reno started in 1868, when the Central Pacific portion of the transcontinental railroad went from the summit of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Truckee Meadows at Lake's Crossing, the future site of Reno (specifically the location of the Virginia Street Bridge). An additional rail connection from Virginia City to the Central Pacific, many thought would drastically cut the cost of hauling freight to the booming mining town. Thus, the Virginia and Truckee Railroad Company was incorporated, with a route running from Virginia City, north along Lousetown road to the present site of Lockwood, 10 miles east of Reno, where it would connect with the Central Pacific.
Factions in Storey and Ormsby (known today as Carson City) counties paid $500,000 to run the railroad through Carson City and Washoe Valley to connect to the Central Pacific at Lake's Crossing. Henry M. Yerington was appointed superintendent of the V & T. The timing of this route change couldn’t be more perfect. In May of 1868 the Central Pacific laid the transcontinental track into Lakes Crossing, just 30 miles north of Carson City. For the next 78 years the Virginia & Truckee Railroad Company serviced Reno and Virginia City as well as the communities in between.

Janet Holcomb Hunter

Janet Holcomb Hunter left her mark on the Truckee Meadows in a range of ways. Janet, a descendent of the well-known pioneer Nevada family of Grove R. and Sarah Lyell Holcomb, was born in Reno on May 14, 1918, to Thad and Frances Judd Holcomb. She was raised at the Holcomb Ranch located west of Huffaker’s Station. Her father, Thad Holcomb, managed the Holcomb estate, which grew to over 31,000 acres and included land in Nevada and California. She had a pretty good childhood until things made a turn in early 1928.
A tragic incident altered Janet’s life forever when she was the lone witness of her father’s death, which occurred a week before her tenth birthday. On that day she had joined her father to deal with a problem at the ranch that needed immediate attention. As she and her father rode their horses along the family’s ranch, her father’s horse suddenly bolted and he was thrown from his horse, sustaining head injuries causing his sudden death. Unable to assist her father and with no one in sight, Janet managed to get on her horse and rode out to seek help for her father.
Her father’s passing had a profound effect on Janet, a tragic memory she carried until her passing. His death also brought many changes to how the ranch was being managed and operated by the surviving family members. The combined circumstances of Thad Holcomb's death and the Great Depression caused many changes on the ranch and in Janet’s life. The operation fell apart and with no other choice the Holcomb estate sold off the ranch and divided the money among the heirs. As a result, Janet’s mother, Frances Judd Holcomb, moved her family to Reno where she purchased three houses. One house served as a home for her young family and the remaining two were established as rentals.
During the Great Depression, Mrs. Holcomb was approached by a judge to consider setting up a boarding home for women seeking a divorce. The city of Reno had proclaimed itself as the “divorce capital of the world.” In a matter of a mere six weeks, women could establish residency in Reno, thus avoiding a lengthy process and uncertain outcome for a quick degree. Establishing a boarding home in the large house situated at 770 California Street provided Mrs. Holcomb additional income for the family.
Following her college studies, Janet held teaching positions in Winnemucca and a variety of other schools throughout rural Nevada. She worked as a substitute teacher in the Reno/Sparks area when her children were young. In the late 1960s, she accepted a permanent teaching position at Mount Rose Elementary School in Reno, the school she had attended as a child. She taught the fourth grade for the next 25 years.
The Holcomb legacy continues through the presence of many proud descendants and two street names: Holcomb Ranch Lane in southwest Reno and Holcomb Avenue in downtown Reno (which goes past the Holcomb Historic Site). As well as streets named after the family Janet, over much of her adult life, left her mark on Truckee Meadows and Nevada history by teaching her students about the State’s history in various ways. She helped protect Mount Rose Elementary School from being Demolished in 1976 (a school that was built back in 1912) with it being listed in the National Register of Historical Places in 1977.

Fall of the Railroad and Rise of Midtown

In the 1940s the V&T was in a steep decline, with few workers left and severely outdated equipment present with the company considering abandoning the entire line. In World War II the line did see a slight bit of relief with increased passenger riders and movement of various goods (because of gas rations). However, starting in 1941 sections of the Carson City-to-Virginia City rail were scrapped and some of the remaining trains were sold off. The Tahoe and Reno
(two 1870s trains) were sold to Movie Studios in Hollywood. Additional sections of the line were removed through to 1950, when the last passenger train came to Reno. By this point in history, trucks, buses, private automobiles and highways took over the role of the V&T in Northwestern Nevada with no real use for a local railroad anymore.

The Legacy of the V&T Railroad

However, as the V&T was in decline many Nevadans realized what they were losing and began to protect and preserve what was left of the historic railroad system. Even though the Virginia & Truckee Railroad is long gone from Reno, parts of it can still be found alive and well. From the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City to the remnants and still operating railroad in Virginia City. Even though some of the original trains are gone from Nevada a few of them still exist. The V&T Empire engine is currently on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento.

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Holcomb Historic Site on iNaturalist

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Want To Learn More?

References & Further Info:

City of Reno Parks and Facilities Directory - Holcomb Historic Site
2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.virginiatruckee.com/lookback-great-scenic-railway-journeys-and-photographer-special/> [Accessed 28 July 2022].
Daughters of the American Revolution. 2022. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. [online] Available at: <https://www.dar.org/national-society/historic-sites-and-properties/virginia-and-truckee-railroad> [Accessed 28 July 2022].
Drew, Stephen E. Nevada’s Virginia & Truckee Railroad. Charleston, Sc, Arcadia Pub, 2014.
Nevadawomen.org. 2022. Janet Holcomb Hunter – Nevada Women's History Project. [online] Available at: <https://www.nevadawomen.org/research-center/biographies-alphabetical/janet-holcomb-hunter/> [Accessed 28 July 2022].
Nv-landmarks.com. 2022. [248] -- Virginia & Truckee Railroad Right of Way. [online] Available at: <http://www.nv-landmarks.com/wa/shl248.htm> [Accessed 28 July 2022].
Shpo.nv.gov. 2022. Virginia and Truckee Railroad Right-of-Way | SHPO. [online] Available at: <http://shpo.nv.gov/nevadas-historical-markers/historical-markers/virginia-and-truckee-railroad-right-of-way> [Accessed 28 July 2022].
Truckee, V., 2022. Virginia & Truckee Railroad: Locomotives, History, Roster. [online] American-Rails.com. Available at: <https://www.american-rails.com/vt.html> [Accessed 28 July 2022].

Contributor(s):

Michael Misanik (history)

Erin Larsen (editor)

Last Updated:

August 26, 2022, 6:32:43 PM

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