James D. Roberts House

This house was built by James D. Roberts in Washoe City in 1859, and then moved to Carson City in 1873 on a Virginia & Trukee flat car. Many residences and other buildings were moved from mining boomtown to mining boomtown during the late 19th century and early 1900s in this manner. The Roberts House is a rare example of Gothic Revival architecture in Nevada, and the oldest extant house in Carson City.

Typical Gothic Revival elements of the Roberts House include its gingerbread bargeboard, lancet windows and a steeply-pitched roof. Roberts was born in Illinois in 1827, came to California during the gold rush and lived in various California locations until 1857 when he settled in Nevada. Roberts fought in the Pyramid Lake Battle of 1860–one of a series of conflicts between native American Indian groups and new settlers and miners during which more European Americans died than in any prior American engagement with Indians in the far West.

Roberts died on January 6, 1915. The last residents of this home were Thurman G. and Hattie Hale Roberts, who bequeathed the home to Carson City. Thurman, son of the builder, was a miner and an employee of the Carson and Colorado railroad. Hattie was a direct descendant of Nathan G. Hale, executed by the British in 1776. Hale’s official commission, signed by George Washington, was still hanging on the wall when Carson City acquired the home in 1969. That year demolition of the house was proposed so that a park could be built at the site. Several local groups organized and saved the house from destruction. It now operates as a house museum.

It is operated by the Nevada Landmarks Society and is open for tours on the weekend. Call 775-887-2174 for museum hours.