Big Canyon

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The mouth of Big Canyon is 13 miles north of Sutcliffe.[1]

In July, 1864, Charles Symonds started building a house at the mouth of Big Canyon. Later the location became known as Pyramid.[1]

Big Canyon was a stop on the Fernley and Lassen Railway.

Big Canyon Ranch is located nearby.

Big Canyon Ranch

Big Canyon Ranch was owned by Patrick I. Flanigan (b. 1860, d. 1920), for whom the town of Flanigan was named.[2]

At one time, the Big Canyon Ranch was owned by cattleman Hiram West. Woon states that West married a daughter of P. T. Barnum[3], which seems unlikely as West married Lillian C. Bailey of Washoe City in 1905.[4] None of Barnum's children had this name. Hiram West died in ca. 1930 and is buried on Tule Mountain.[5]

One source states that David Vernon Shawn-Kennedy bought the ranch in 1931. Shaw-Kennedy served in the British Coldstream Guards in World War I.[6]

However, another source states that a "Mr. Shaw Kennedy", owned the ranch from 1941 until 1949.[7]

Basil Woon stated that at one time, Big Canyon Ranch was owned by an Englishman who thought the Nazis were going to take over the world.[3]

Entertainer Harry Richman owned Big Canyon Ranch from 1949 until 1954. [3]

In 1954, the Capurro Family purchased Big Canyon Ranch.[7]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Sessions S. Wheeler, "The Desert Lake: The Story of Nevada's Pyramid Lake," p. 78.
  2. Kay Mergen, "Reno Follows Strange Case of Kidnapped Carriage Step," August 13, 1954, Reno Evening Gazette, p. 6.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Basil Woon, "Harry Richman Plans to Climax his Career with a new Broadway Show Sometime Soon - Entertainer Plans Production from his Nevada Ranch," July 18, 1954, Nevada State Journal, p. 7, 9.
  4. "Hiram West Married Last Night," December 20, 1905, p. 6.
  5. Basil Woon, "'Hot Rock' Prospectors of Today follow 95-Year-Old Trails in Northern Nevada," March 3, 1955, Nevada State Journal, p. 8, 10.
  6. Reno Evening Gazette, "Wealthy Nevadan's Estate in Court," August 31, 1945, p. 13.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Nevada: The Silver State, Volume 2," Western States Historical Publishers, p. 885, 1970.

External Resources