4980 Susan Lee Circle Rd, New Washoe City, NV 89704

Wilson Commons Park

Park Description:

Wilson Commons Park is a Washoe County park without restrooms. The park contains 5-acres of historic ranch outbuildings, 20-acres of irrigated pasture, and several acres of developed parkland.

Park Amenities:

Picnic area, horseshoes, volleyball, tennis court, fishing pond, benches, and a historic barn and ranch buildings that are over 100-years old.

Park Contact Information:

Washoe County Parks and Open Space (775) 828-6612

Park Highlights

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Park History

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

Washeshu (Washoe) Tribe

This valley was originally occupied by the Washeshu or Washoe Tribe who enjoyed abundant food sources within the mountain streams and riparian areas around Washoe Lake. Washeshu roughly translates to “the people.” After the arrival of european settlers, the land exchanged hands many times, and by the 20th century, most of the tribe had been forced to move to reservations.

Washoe Valley is still an important area to the tribes and more information about the three tribes of this area can be found on the Reno, Sparks Indian Colony website, http://www.rsic.org/.

Image:
Washoe Indians – The Chief’s Family.

Source: Lawrence & Houseworth Publisher. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

Early History of the Area

The history of this area goes back to the days before Nevada was a state. With its proximity to the gold rush in California and the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, the entire Washoe Valley was one of the earliest settled areas by immigrants in the state. During the late 1800’s, the valley was home to many quartz mills, and lumber harvested in the mountains was brought down to the valley in flumes, then transported to the Comstock mines.

The valley was also home to many ranches, raising cattle and growing crops to supply the growing population.

Image:
A logging flume running from Tahoe down to the valley below.

Image:
Also seen is the flume tender's house. Source: Stephen Gennerich, The Western Nevada Historic Photo Collection.

Twaddle Ranch

According to a 2000 article in the Reno Gazette-Journal, the park is located on a former dairy farm from the 1860s and contains a few of the only original farm buildings left in Washoe Valley. The historic farm was the Twaddle/Pedroli Dairy Ranch, and the remaining historic buildings were donated by the Sprenger family.

The newspaper article credits Bernadette S. Francke with researching the history of the farm. Francke’s research indicates that like many early european settlers to Washoe Valley, John Twaddle came to the area from Utah in 1860 with his brother and developed the ranch on this parcel of land to grow alfalfa and fruit, plus raise cattle to satisfy the needs of the miners working at the Comstock. Twaddle’s son, Ebenezer obtained 470-acres of pasture nearby plus another 160 wooded acres in 1881.

Image:
Historic barn. Source: Jill Richardson.

Pedroli Ranch

Ebenezer Twaddle sold the ranch a few years later to Stephen and Anselmo Pedroli for $3000. The Pedrolis had come to Washoe Valley from Italy via the Comstock, and they enlarged the ranch by purchasing John Twaddle’s brother’s ranch nearby. The Pedrolis turned the ranch into a dairy farm with 140 cows, the first few of which had been imported from Switzerland. Hay and grain were also grown on the farm.

The Virginia and Truckee Railroad (V&TRR) was extended from Carson City to Reno in 1874 and had a stop nearby in Franktown. The railroad was used to deliver milk and other dairy products to Virginia City.

Image:
A Virginia and Truckee train, pulled by engine #26, leaves the Franktown Depot, located at the Flying M E Guest Ranch in the Washoe Valley. The train is headed to Carson City.
Source: University of Nevada, Reno: Special Collections, The Western Nevada Historic Photo Collection.

Visit by a Surprise Guest

Stephen Pedroli died in 1924, so his son William (“Bill”) took over the ranch. One interesting story mentioned by Francke and other sources was that in 1943, Bill Pedroli’s wife saw a stranger walking through the farm. It turned out to be First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Roosevelt was taking a walk with her friend who was waiting for a divorce at nearby Tumbling DW Ranch. Roosevelt wrote about her favorable impressions of the Pedroli ranch in her daily column, “My Day.”

The Harp Brothers Corporation purchased the farm in 1848. At some point, By Sprenger and his son By Junior obtained the farm and donated 5-acres with the historic buildings to Washoe County in 1986. The name Wilson Commons Park was chosen by the Sprengers—Wilson was the name of By Sr.’s mother-in-law, and they preferred the sound of “commons” because it gives the feeling that it is a place for everyone to enjoy. The remaining 20-acres were purchased by Washoe County from a farm just east of the Sprenger property.

Image:
Eleanor Roosevelt in 1933. Source: Wikipedia/Library of Congress.

Franktown

A number of small settlements sprang up on the western side of Washoe Lake in the early days; some of which no longer exist such as Mill Station, Ophir, and Franktown. Wilson Commons Park is located in the Franktown area; the old town was located at Franktown Creek less than a mile north of the park.

This little hamlet was one of the earliest settlements in the western Utah Territory in 1856. Named for resident Frank Poirier, the town was laid out by Mormon Elder Orson Hyde. By the mid-1860s there were around 500 residents, and several mines were located here. In 1872, the Virginia and Truckee Railroad came through the area with a station at Franktown, making the depot an important stop for lumber and farming produce. There was a territorial post office in Franktown, which opened in 1862 and lasted until 1927.

Image:
1969: The Virginia and Truckee water tank at Franktown in the Washoe Valley. There used to be a station here at Franktown, the water tank survived until about 1980. Source: Rock Donaldson, Western Nevada Historic Photo Collection.

Wilson Commons Park

The park itself was built in 1994 and is around 25-acres, including a fishing hole popular with young anglers. The man-made pond is 10-feet deep and stocked by the Nevada Department of Wildlife on a regular basis.

The historic dairy buildings at the park were donated by the Sprenger family and renovated by Washoe County in 2000 at a cost of $100,000. The Twaddle/Pedroli Ranch was put on the National Register of Historic Places that same year. Some of the original buildings were destroyed in a fire in 2016.

Present Day

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Donate:

Make a donation to support the Parks Project or your favorite Parks Foundation program, project, or wherever its needed! Click here to donate today.

Volunteer:

Support our parks by volunteering with the Parks Foundation! Attend a volunteer event or choose an ongoing role. Click here to explore opportunities.

iNaturalist:

Out in our parks or open spaces? Try cataloguing the biodiversity around you with iNaturalist! All it takes is downloading the iNaturalist app onto your phone to get started.

Curious what's been seen in this park? Click the link below to see what species other have spotted!

Wilson Commons Park on iNaturalist

Contact:

Have a question about our parks or the Parks Project? Email us at parksproject@tmparksfoundation.org!

Want To Learn More?

References & Further Info:

Washoe County Parks and Open Space - Wilson Commons Park
Nevada Department of Wildlife: Wilson Commons Pond
100 years ago - 1873. (1973, August 3). Nevada State Journal, p. 5.
B. (1895, June 8). Flush times in Washoe. Weekly Nevada State Journal, p. 4.
Carlson, H. S. (1974). Nevada Place Names. Reno: University of Nevada Press.
Flumes. (1878, May 23). Reno Evening Gazette, p. 2.
McGee, W. a. (2004). The Divorce Seekers. St. Helena, California: BMC Publications.
Personal. (1878, May 23). Reno Evening Gazette, p. 2.
The best things in life are still free. (1998, June 21). Reno Gazette-Journal, p. 9B.
Voyles, S. (2000, March 21). Restored Washoe farm may become national landmark. Reno Gazette-Journal, p. 1C.
Washoe Co’s agricultural lands and products. (1881, December 17). Weekly Nevada State Journal, p.4.
Washoe County - No. 6. (1873, February 1). Nevada State Journal, p. 2.
Washoe County Commission. (1993, March 5). Reno Gazette-Journal, p. 3D.
Wood. (1873, July 29). Gold Hill Daily News, p. 3.

Contributor(s):

Jill Richardson (history)

Haley McGuire

Alex Shahbazi

Last Updated:

September 15, 2022 at 7:49:03 PM

Back to All Parks

Biodiversity

4980 Susan Lee Circle Rd, New Washoe City, NV 89704

Wilson Commons Park

Park Description:

Wilson Commons Park is a Washoe County park without restrooms. The park contains 5-acres of historic ranch outbuildings, 20-acres of irrigated pasture, and several acres of developed parkland.

Park Amenities:

Picnic area, horseshoes, volleyball, tennis court, fishing pond, benches, and a historic barn and ranch buildings that are over 100-years old.

Park Contact Information:

Washoe County Parks and Open Space (775) 828-6612

Park Highlights

Park History

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

Get Involved!

Donate:

Make a donation to support the Parks Project or your favorite Parks Foundation program, project, or wherever its needed! Click here to donate today.

Volunteer:

Support our parks by volunteering with the Parks Foundation! Attend a volunteer event or choose an ongoing role. Click here to explore opportunities.

iNaturalist:

Out in our parks or open spaces? Try cataloguing the biodiversity around you with iNaturalist! All it takes is downloading the iNaturalist app onto your phone to get started.

​

Curious what's been seen in this park? Click the link below to see what species other have spotted!

Contact:

Have a question about our parks or the Parks Project? Email us at parksproject@tmparksfoundation.org!

Want To Learn More?

References & Further Info:

Contributor(s):

Last Updated:

September 15, 2022 at 7:49:03 PM