475 Monroe St, Reno, NV 89509

Plumas Park

Park Description:

Plumas Park is a 5-acre Reno park with year-round restrooms. The park is home to Plumas Gym.

Park Amenities:

Playground, soccer/football fields, and basketball courts.

Park Contact Information:

City of Reno - Parks & Facilities (775) 334-2417

Park Highlights

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Park History

Click the image to read each topic's full text!

Ownership of the Land

The location of Plumas Park was once the site of the original B.D. Billinghurst Junior High School. The school opened in fall of 1930 for 600 students and closed in December of 1975. The park was established a few years after the closure of the school.

The school was named for Benson Dillon Billinghurst, who served as Reno’s school superintendent from 1908 until 1950. The land was donated to the city by George Wingfield for the purpose of building a school. At the time of the school’s opening, the 2-story building contained twenty classrooms, a library, study hall, teachers’ room, and gymnasium. There was a basement with rooms for sewing, music, domestic science, cafeteria, and laboratories. The only remaining evidence of the school is the old gymnasium, now used as a recreation center by the City of Reno.

Image:
George Wingfield, who donated the land. Source: Wingfield Family Society.

B. D. Billinghurst Junior High

In December of 1929, the construction on the school began. A cornerstone-laying ceremony was conducted by the Nevada Grand Lodge of Masons. Once completed, the public was invited to a “housewarming party” for the new school in November of 1930 with a speech made by B.D. Billinghurst himself.

Billinghurst Junior High was recommended for closure in a Washoe County School Board report in 1972 due to the new Smithridge Middle School which opened in 1976. The building remained vacant for a year and was considered unsafe, with the exception of the gymnasium which was a more recent addition. But in late 1977, the school board decided the building must come down. The board envisioned that the land which is now Plumas Park would be used for a commercial warehouse. But fortunately, the land and gym was purchased in 1980 by the Reno Recreation Division and has been used for activities such as basketball and volleyball.

Image:
Nevada Grand Lodge of Masons. Source: nvmasons.org.

Benson Dillon Billinghurst

Benson Billinghurst, or “D.B.” as he was called by friends, was a huge influence on Reno’s schools from his appointment as superintendent in 1908 until his death in 1935. Under his direction, Reno’s education program became a model for other school districts in the West.

At a time when the decline in mining in Nevada affected the demographics of the area, his leadership oversaw the opening of all four mission-style schools (Mary S. Doten, Mount Rose, McKinley Park, and Orvis Ring) as well as junior high and high schools. He was responsible for an update to the school curricula in both lower and upper grades, as well as state education reforms for teacher training and certification, attendance requirements, textbook standardization, and more.

While the original B.D. Billinghurst Junior High School closed in 1975, so great were Billinghurst’s contributions to the educational system in Reno that colleagues and friends persuaded the school district to put his name on a new school which opened in the 1990s.

Image:
Benson Dillon Billinghurst.

Activities at the Park

Over the years, the neighborhood has embraced Plumas park with activities such as flag football, with players from Reno High School helping to coach young players, and the High Sierra Soccer League with over 1,200 youth in 2008. The rock wall on the west side of the park was built by the WPA as one of its many public works construction projects during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Across the street from Plumas Park is the Lady of the Snows parish, established in 1938 by Bishop Thomas Gorman. It was the second Catholic Church in Reno and Gorman was the first bishop of the Diocese of Reno. The church school was built in 1950.

Image:
Photo by Jay Kolbet-Clausell.

Park Renovations

The mural on the side of the gym is called Greek Legends, and was painted in 1999 by Youth Art Works.

The park underwent a $120,000 renovations in 2013, through partnerships between Our Lady of the Snows School, the Redfield Foundation and the E.L. Cord Foundation. Improvements included new basketball hoops, a play structure, and four square and hopscotch improvements. The park then became ADA accessible.

Plumas Park is one of 12 pesticide-free parks in Reno. To view a map of pesticide free parks in Reno, visit the City of Reno's website.

Image:
Photo by Jay Kolbet-Clausell.

Present Day

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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!

Plumas 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:

City of Reno Parks & Facilities Directory - Plumas Park
City of Reno: Plumas Park
City of Reno: Plumas Gym
Plumas Park: Facebook
This is Reno: Plumas Park renovation to be complete today
Reno Big Arts Little City: Mural Piece
Public Art Archive: Greek Legends
Pesticide Free Parks: Map

Contributor(s):

Jill Richardson (history)

Haley McGuire

Alex Shahbazi

Last Updated:

September 15, 2022 at 7:44:25 PM

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