475 Monroe St, Reno, NV 89509

Plumas Park

Park Description:

Plumas Park is a 5-acre Reno park with year-round restrooms. The park is home to Plumas Gym.

Park Amenities:

Playground, soccer/football fields, and basketball courts.

Park Contact Information:

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

Park Highlights

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Park History

Click the image to read each topic's full text!

Ownership of the Land

The location of Plumas Park was once the site of the original B.D. Billinghurst Junior High School. The school opened in fall of 1930 for 600 students and closed in December of 1975. The park was established a few years after the closure of the school.

The school was named for Benson Dillon Billinghurst, who served as Reno’s school superintendent from 1908 until 1950. The land was donated to the city by George Wingfield for the purpose of building a school. At the time of the school’s opening, the 2-story building contained twenty classrooms, a library, study hall, teachers’ room, and gymnasium. There was a basement with rooms for sewing, music, domestic science, cafeteria, and laboratories. The only remaining evidence of the school is the old gymnasium, now used as a recreation center by the City of Reno.

Image:
George Wingfield, who donated the land. Source: Wingfield Family Society.

B. D. Billinghurst Junior High

In December of 1929, the construction on the school began. A cornerstone-laying ceremony was conducted by the Nevada Grand Lodge of Masons. Once completed, the public was invited to a “housewarming party” for the new school in November of 1930 with a speech made by B.D. Billinghurst himself.

Billinghurst Junior High was recommended for closure in a Washoe County School Board report in 1972 due to the new Smithridge Middle School which opened in 1976. The building remained vacant for a year and was considered unsafe, with the exception of the gymnasium which was a more recent addition. But in late 1977, the school board decided the building must come down. The board envisioned that the land which is now Plumas Park would be used for a commercial warehouse. But fortunately, the land and gym was purchased in 1980 by the Reno Recreation Division and has been used for activities such as basketball and volleyball.

Image:
Nevada Grand Lodge of Masons. Source: nvmasons.org.