The Lake Mansion: Myron Lake, Jane Lake, and the Founding of Reno

Reno did not begin as a grand plan. It began as a wooden toll bridge on the Truckee River, a wayside inn for teamsters bound for the Comstock, and the shrewd man who bought both: Myron C. Lake. The place was known as Lake's Crossing years before anyone thought to call it a city, and it sat exactly where downtown Reno stands today, beside the Virginia Street bridge.

One building still carries that story. The Lake Mansion, an Italianate house of 1877, was later the home of Jane Lake, and it has survived demolition, two moves, and nearly 150 years. This guide traces the crossing, the town the railroad built around it, the Lakes themselves, and the house. Where sources disagree, we say so rather than smooth it over.

Lake's Crossing on the Truckee

The crossing was first Charles W. Fuller's. According to Wikipedia's history of Reno, Fuller built a log toll bridge over the Truckee in 1859, and a small community serving travelers grew up beside it. Other accounts date his completed bridge to late 1860, and the roadside marker gives his initials differently, so the earliest dates are best read as approximate. The location mattered: it lay on the road to the booming silver camps of Virginia City.

Myron Lake, born in New York in 1828 and later a rancher in California's Honey Lake Valley, bought the operation in 1861. A Tahoe Weekly profile gives the date as June 22, 1861, and says Lake traded his Honey Lake ranch for the bridge, inn, and acreage and received $1,500 in cash besides. A roadside marker at the bridge gives 1863 instead; most other sources point to 1861. Per the same Wikipedia account, Lake then added a grist mill, kiln, and livery stable to the hotel and eating house and renamed the place Lake's Crossing. He also won a ten-year toll franchise from the Territorial legislature, and the tolls were enormously profitable.

The founding site is not in dispute. A historical marker (erected in 1968 by E Clampus Vitus) stands on the west side of the Virginia Street Bridge, commemorating Lake's Crossing as the origin of Reno. The road to Virginia City became Virginia Street, still the city's main north-south artery, and a later chapter, the Lincoln Highway along Fourth Street, ran east-west through the same young town.

How Reno Got Its Name

The railroad made the town. The Central Pacific was pushing east over the Sierra in 1868, and Lake's Crossing offered level ground away from the hills and above the eastern marshes. Wikipedia says Lake deeded land to the railroad in exchange for its promise to build a depot at his crossing, and Reno Historical describes him selling Crocker acreage on the river's north side for a townsite centered on that depot. The terms are described differently elsewhere: a 1968 marker says Lake donated land, a KUNR history says he sold roughly 107 acres, and the figures in other accounts range from about 105 to 160 acres. What every source agrees on is the result.

On May 9, 1868, the railroad auctioned the first lots of the new townsite. Central Pacific construction superintendent Charles Crocker named it for Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed at the Battle of South Mountain in the Civil War, according to Wikipedia and a KUNR history; Reno Historical says the railroad had officially named it Reno by the day of the auction. Reno Historical adds that the junction had earlier been referred to as Argenta, and that the Virginia & Truckee Railroad connected the town to the Comstock in 1872.

Myron and Jane Lake

Lake is remembered as Reno's founder and, in some tellings, as its first robber baron. Travel Nevada's profile describes a bridge dispute in 1872-73, when townspeople demanded lower tolls or a public bridge, and says the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in May 1873 that it must be free. Lake died on June 20, 1884, at age 56.

Jane Lake is harder to see, and the record is thin. Citizendium and Find a Grave identify her as Jane Conkey Bryant, a neighbor from Honey Lake Valley, whom Lake married in 1864; their sources disagree on the exact date and place, so we give only the year. Citizendium lists one child of the marriage, Charles, called "Charlie," born in 1875. Reno Historical confirms Jane and Charlie as the heirs of the mansion.

The marriage ended publicly. Travel Nevada says Jane filed for divorce in late 1879 alleging cruelty and that the case dragged on for years; Reno Historical dates the divorce to 1881. A Nevada Appeal column says Lake bought the Italianate house in 1879 in a failed attempt at reconciliation, a detail we attribute rather than assert. After Lake's death, Jane held the property and, per Reno Historical, modernized it with indoor plumbing, a telephone, and wall-to-wall carpeting. The Nevada Appeal says she lived there until 1902. The same city would later become famous for quick divorces, a chapter we explore in our story of the Riverside Hotel.

The Lake Mansion of 1877

The house predates Lake's ownership. Reno Historical says it was built in 1877 by Washington J. Marsh, with architect John S. Sturgeon as designer; Lake bought it in 1879 for $5,000. Credits differ by source: Wikipedia names only W. J. Marsh as builder, while Arts for All Nevada says Sturgeon built it for the Marsh family. We follow Reno Historical, which separates designer from builder.

It is a textbook Italianate villa of the Victorian West: a gently sloping hipped roof, deep overhanging eaves, a widow's walk, and recessed doorways, with well-detailed brackets, window frames, doors, and balustrades. Reno Historical lists a 3,206-square-foot house with etched glass at the door and carved woodwork over the parlor's sliding doors. Wikipedia gives a 36-by-36-foot footprint and says its three-sided veranda was lost in the moves.

It stood at the northwest corner of California and Virginia Streets, along the same Virginia Street that began at the old crossing. After Jane's time, the Nevada Appeal lists later owners including jeweler Otto Herz (1902-1906), rancher Olin Ward (1906-1928), and hotel operator Felix Turrillas (1928 into the early 1970s).

A House That Moved Twice

By the early 1970s the mansion was slated for demolition. It was saved through donation to Washoe Landmark Preservation and, in 1971, moved south along Virginia Street to the grounds of the convention center near Kietzke Lane. Wikipedia lists the house on the National Register of Historic Places on June 29, 1972 (reference 72000767); Reno Historical confirms the 1972 listing.

On July 11, 2004, according to Reno Historical, the 40-ton house was moved 3.1 miles back up Virginia Street to its current address, 250 Court Street, in downtown Reno. Arts for All Nevada says it reopened in March 2005 after a basement was built beneath it.

The Lake Mansion Today

The mansion is owned by Arts for All Nevada (formerly VSA Arts of Nevada), which uses it for affordable, public workshops and art camps and has earned awards for preservation and adaptive reuse. Reno Historical mentions self-guided tours of the restored interior, but Arts for All's own history page says tours and visits are by appointment only. Public access has apparently changed over time, so contact the organization before you go.

At a Glance: The Lake Mansion and the Founding of Reno

• Reno began at Lake's Crossing, a Truckee River toll bridge and inn at today's Virginia Street bridge, not at an outlying ranch.
• Myron C. Lake bought the crossing from Charles W. Fuller in 1861 (a roadside marker says 1863) and expanded it with a mill, stable, and hotel.
• The Central Pacific Railroad auctioned the first town lots on May 9, 1868; Charles Crocker named the town for Union General Jesse Lee Reno.
• The Lake Mansion was built in 1877 in the Italianate style, designed by John S. Sturgeon and built by W. J. Marsh, per Reno Historical.
• Myron Lake bought the house in 1879; his wife Jane held it after his death in 1884 and lived there until 1902, according to one account.
• The house was moved in 1971 and again in 2004, was listed on the National Register in 1972, and today belongs to Arts for All Nevada at 250 Court Street.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where did Reno begin, and who founded it?

Reno began at Lake's Crossing, the toll bridge and inn on the Truckee River at today's Virginia Street bridge in downtown Reno. Myron C. Lake is credited as founder because he developed the crossing and made the land deal with the Central Pacific Railroad. Some historians argue that Charles W. Fuller, who built the first bridge, deserves equal credit.

How did Reno get its name?

The railroad's construction superintendent, Charles Crocker, named the town for Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed at the Battle of South Mountain during the Civil War. The first lots were auctioned on May 9, 1868.

Who designed and built the Lake Mansion, and how many times has it moved?

Reno Historical credits John S. Sturgeon as designer and Washington J. Marsh as builder, and dates the house to 1877. Other sources credit the roles differently. The house has been moved twice, in 1971 and in 2004, and now stands at 250 Court Street.

Can I visit the Lake Mansion?

The mansion is owned by Arts for All Nevada, which runs workshops and art camps there. Sources differ on public access, with one describing self-guided tours and the organization's own page saying visits are by appointment, so check with Arts for All Nevada first.

Conclusion

Reno's story is easy to tell and hard to flatten: a bridge, a bargain, a railroad, and a family whose marriage ended in a long public divorce. The Lake Mansion is the tangible survivor, a house that held Jane Lake's later years and has outlasted two moves. We gather period pieces from the same Victorian era, and you can meet us at the Reno Antique Faire.

To bring a piece of that history home, explore our curated collection at The Eclection — chosen not for their shine, but for the craftsmanship and history they carry.

Resources & Further Reading

For deeper study of Reno's founding and the Lake family, these Nevada institutions are reliable, non-commercial starting points:

• Online Nevada Encyclopedia — articles on Reno, Myron Lake, and the Lake Mansion from Nevada Humanities.
• Reno Historical — a walkable, photo-rich map of Reno's historic sites, including the Lake Mansion.
• Nevada Historical Society — the Reno museum and research library for Nevada's past.