Wheeler Ranch
Wheeler Ranch is located south of Soldier Meadows, near Wagner Springs and the Little Joe Mine.
Carl Wheeler in 1903 bought out the John O'Kane sheep operation, which included the present-day Wheeler Ranch. In 1907, Carl sold to his younger brother Don. In 1922, it was written: "Wheeler operated the Donnelly Land & Live Stock Company's ranch at Donnelly Mountain, forty miles from Gerlach, for several years."[1]
Don died in 1922 of exposure after his car was stuck in the desert on a cold winter night. In 1927, the Parman brothers bought the Wheeler Ranch along with Soldier Meadows. They were forced to sell in the 1930's, but Verne and Ralph Parman bought Wheeler Ranch back in 1937 and operated it for another twenty-one years.
Sessions Wheeler states that Wheeler Ranch is also known as the Parman Ranch or Donnelly Ranch and is located on Donnelly Creek. [2].
A 1926 article[3] states that Jack Casey died "15 miles from the Donnelly Ranch and 26 miles from Gerlach." Wheeler Ranch is about 41 miles from Gerlach.
References
- ↑ Don Wheeler Dies on Desert," Reno Gazette-Journal, January 10, 1922, p. 1.
- ↑ Sessions Wheeler, "Nevada's Black Rock Desert," p. 171.
- ↑ "Rancher Dies in Accident," Nevada State Journal March 2, 1926, p. 8.
- The Sheep Breeder, "report of Don Wheeler's death," Volume 42, 1922
"One or the most painful bits of news that has come to me for some time is the death of Don Wheeler on the Black Rock Desert; died right on the job hauling corn for his sheep. I lost a truly good friend. I cannot expres in words my feeling. He was frozen to death. I know that at the time it was ten below zero at Fallon at that is well in the southern part of the state, so on the Black Rock Desert it must have been several degrees colder. - W.H. Guscetti, Sierra Co, Calif."
- Sessions Wheeler, "The Black Rock Desert," p. 166.