3295 Mayberry Dr, Reno, NV 89509

Betsy Caughlin Donnelly Park

Park Description:

Betsy Caughlin Donnelly Park is a 30-acre Washoe County park without restrooms. The park features views of the Truckee Meadows and the Sierra Nevada mountains and is home to Reno Food System's Park Farm.

Park Amenities:

Walking trails, and benches.

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!

The Park

As cars speed along on South McCarran Boulevard, passengers may notice the 30-acre Betsy Caughlin Donnelly Park which bears the name and 150-year history of a pioneer ranching family of Reno, the Caughlins. Opened in 1993, the park with its beautiful trees, walking path and benches, is located on land where cattle and sheep once grazed. The Caughlin family owned the land from 1874 operated it as a ranch. At one point, the ranch totaled over 6,000 acres.

Betsy Caughlin Donnelly donated the land in 1990 to be used by the public. But she stipulated that the park have no bright lights, big buildings, or noisy ball fields. She wanted local kids to be able to watch cows doing their thing in the pasture next to the park and the original ranch house, just like she did when she was growing up. The County leases that land out in the summer for cows to graze that pasture.

Mrs. Donnelly received the Good Neighbors Award in 1995 for her contribution of the land.

Image: Jill Richardson.

Betsy Caughlin Donnelly

The daughter of William Henry Caughlin and Christine “Crissie” Andrews Caughlin, Elizabeth “Betsy” was born in the ranch house next to the park in 1902. She was the youngest of four Caughlin children. Betsy recalled later in her life that she and her siblings used to look forward to riding in their horse-drawn buggy into Reno to go to the movies.

She attended Reno High School, graduating in 1921. She studied art and married Roger Donnelly in 1936. Roger owned a roofing company in San Francisco, so the couple lived there for over 25 years. Upon retirement in the 1960s, the couple returned to Reno. At the death of her mother in 1955, Betsy and her siblings took over ownership and operation of the ranch which then totaled about 3,000 acres.

Betsy passed away in 1999, after which the last of the Caughlin family’s ranch house possessions (furniture, antiques, paintings, and kitchenware) went up for sale.

Image: Jill Richardson.

Ranch House

The beautiful ranch house next to the park belonged to the Caughlin family. Originally the family lived in a house on Mill Street, but they decided to move this lovely house down from Virginia City to their ranch. Many homes came to Reno after the bust of the Comstock and people moved out of Virginia City. The house was originally an orphanage, built between 1865 and 1867, and was moved to its current location around 1900 after the orphanage closed. In order to move homes such as this one, they were taken apart, transported on the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, and then reassembled at the new location.

At the time Donnelly donated the land for the park in 1990, the house was not included because it was said to be uninhabitable. Donnelly’s great-nephew and his wife undertook a project to remodel the house in 1995. The floor plan of the house was kept largely the same over the years.

The couple sold the house, along with the surrounding buildings, to the owners of a garden shop in 2009. As of 2021, five new office buildings around the house, called Mayberry Gardens.

Image: Caughlin Ranch House; Source: Jill Richardson

Reno Food Systems

The field next to the ranch house, east of the park, is used as a vegetable farm for Reno Food Systems in a partnership with Washoe County Parks.

According to their website, Reno Food Systems use this small demonstration farm to train future farmers. “Farm interns working on the property will receive hands-on experience growing high-density, organic crops in Northern Nevada's arid climate through natural and regenerative methods.”

Washoe County has allowed Reno Food Systems to operate the 5-acre parcel. The group is a non-profit that promotes healthy communities through urban agriculture. Their mission is cultivating community-based food systems through education, research and civic engagement. They hope this project will encourage other small public parcels to be used as urban micro-farms.

Image: Washoe County Parks website.

Last Chance Ditch

On the south side of the pasture along Plumb Lane is the Last Chance Ditch. Built in 1874, this was one of many ditches built in the Reno area. The name comes from the belief by its builders—George Andrews (grandfather of Betsy Caughlin Donnelly), Enoch Morrill, and Winslow P. Nay—to be their last opportunity to tap into the waters of the Truckee River. This ditch is 17-miles long and begins near Mogul and ends at Zolezzi Lane where it joins with White’s Creek.

George Andrews sold his portion of the ditch (the first eight miles) to James Mayberry in 1877 with the provision that the Andrews Ranch (later the Caughlin Ranch) could access the water in perpetuity.

Caughlin family history tells of George digging part of the ditch with pick and shovel and surveying the layout of the ditch. Over the many years, there were lawsuits over water rights to the ditch, but the Caughlin family prevailed.

Image: Park Entrance; Source: Washoe County Parks website.

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!

Betsey Caughlin Donnelly 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 - Betsy Caughlin Donnelly Park
About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2021, from Reno Food Systems: 2021
Bremner, F. (1993, November 5). New park a place to gaze at the cattle grazing. Reno Gazette-Journal , p. 17.
Cafferata, P. (2009, December 27). Water to fight over: The Last Chance Ditch. Reno Gazette-Journal , p. 44.
Farley, C. (1990, October 24). Reno native donates southwest landd for park. Reno Gazette-Journal , p. 11.
Farley, C. (1995, December 1). This old house. Reno Gazette-Journal , p. 53.
Fine, L. (2005, December 2). Blast from the past. Reno Gazette-Journal , p. 89.
Grady, S. (1998, September 11). Caughlin matriarch vividly remembers the 'working ranch'. Reno Gazette-Journal , p. 103.
Last Chance Ditch case. (1935, February 2). Reno Evening Gazette , p. 12.
Nickles, J. (1985, October 27). Second 'Donner Party' fights developers. Reno Gazette-Journal , p. 61.
Park Farm. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2021, from Reno Food Systems: https://www.renofoodsystems.org/parkfarm
Skorupa, S. (2009, June 7). Garden Shop resettled on historic landscape. Reno Gazette-Journal , p. 41.

Contributor(s):

Jill Richardson (history)

Haley McGuire

Alex Shahbazi

Last Updated:

August 26, 2022 at 6:22:33 PM

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