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HISTORY
Truckee's Commercial Row
Rocking Stone
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In 1844, the Stevens party was one of the first group of immigrants to pass through the Sierra Nevada range on the way to California. They encountered a Paiute Indian, Chief Winnemucca. He kept repeating the word Tro-Kay, and the immigrants assumed he was saying his name. Actually he was concerned they might think he was hostile and was really saying that "everything is all right, it's okay". He told them of a pass along a river that led to the Sierra and even showed them the way to the pass. This pass led the way for other immigrant parties. The Stevens party was soon followed by the ill fated Donner party. Truckee was settled shortly after and lumber became the major industry along with ice harvesting. The town of Truckee continued to grow as the railroad was built. Truckee had a reputation as a hard drinking, hard living western railroad town. Some of that history can be seen in the taverns and Old Jail House on Commercial Row. Tourism was also a major industry that contributed to Truckee's growth. |
Warren and George Richardson were no novice lumberman when they came to the Truckee river basin in 1874. The brothers were capable and imaginative. The Richardson brothers invented a steam engine to move the lumbered logs to the mill and also a method to expedite log handling at the headsaw. These inventions and patents, along with hard work, made the Richardson brothers two of the wealthiest men this side of the Sierra.
Truckee & Richardson House (circa 1908) |
Warren Richardson |
The Richardson House circa 1980 |
Warren built his home in 1887. This beautiful Victorian home stayed in the Richardson family until 1940 when it was sold by his granddaughter. Since that time the house was primarily used as a boarding house and was to become known as "The Flop House". In 1981 the house was purchased by the Bradley family who started running it as the Bradley House Bed and Breakfast. |
| Jim Beck purchased the house in 1987 and renamed it after its original owners. Like Warren Richardson, Jim is an inventor and a man of vision. He and his wife Sandi have been dedicated to restoring the home to its original splendor. They have lovingly recreated the look and feel to reflect its past elegance. The front porch is an example of the lengths they took. The newels, the balusters and the balustrades were all custom made to the exact dimensions of the original. Samples of the original construction were removed, individual parts were then traced and through the use of computers they were lathed into exact replicas. The result is precisely what was intended by the original artisan. It is with this precision and eye for detail that makes The Richardson House stand as a model of historic preservation. |
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