The Smoke Creek Ranch is one of the oldest ranches in Nevada, first settled by T.T. Kingsbury on May 30, 1857. It is also one that I have not had the best of luck finding information, so I am doing this post to see if anything surfaces. During the late 1800s it was owned by the Winters family of Washoe Valley. They even acquired the Shinn Ranch and George Winters planted the cottonwood grove there. One of the next owners were the Pon Brothers. I was recently in contact with some Pon descendants but they had no information. Then there was Patrick Flanigan and Rees T. Jenkins outfit among others. In 1949, Albert Freeman, then owner of the Smoke Creek Ranch, had the reservoir constructed. If anyone can enlighten me and others about this place, I would truly appreciate it.
Donate!
My daddy work on this ranch in the 60s capturing Mustang. Do u have more pictures?
Did you know Sherman and Aloha Lewis, they worked at the Smoke Creek Ranch? Guessing in the late 59s or 60s.
My uncle Dewey Cunefare wored for mr. Jacobs and rode on cattle drives when he wasn’t sailing the owners yachts..
He mentions they put him up at the stockmen’s hotel in Elko… the ranch had 5,000 herefords
My grandfather was Albert Freeman
I worked in the hay harvest at Smoke Creek Ranch during the summer of 1947. Great food and work conditions but lookout for the rattle snakes. They would shoot wild Burros to keep them off the range. I heard they were building a dam but never saw it. I was16 years old at the time, 90 now. Cheers
Ji
I am going to be living out a one of the Smoke Creek Ranches for Jack Rabbit Corp. that owns then now, my father-in-law (once removed) part owner. Tending an alfalfa field they are putting in there. Have travelled to all of the ranches on the property and seen a lot of the surrounding land. I am interested in all that is known about the place, of course.
I have done a lot of research over the years about the Smoke Creek country. For starters check out https://tipurdy.org/camp-smoke-creek-2/
Hi Stephen,
Since you are going to be living out there, do you know how one would go about getting permission to take pictures of the old Smoke Creek Camp site, particularly the 4 Graves in the cemetery there? My self and 3 or 4 others from Reno Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) would like to make the trip sometime to properly document the graves of the 4 civil War Veterans. If you can Help us out here it would be appreciated.