The Marzen House

The Marzen House. . Col. Joseph Marzen was born in Germany in 1928 and immigrated to New York City in 1846. He quickly learned he was born to be a butcher and honed his craft there until he went west to Sacramento, CA in 1851. Not one to settle down yet, he moved on to Virginia City, NV in 1863. He made a fateful cattle run in 1873 through the beautiful Lovelock Valley and knew he found his destiny. He returned in late 1874 to purchase land and to start planning his ranch house., Governor Jewett Adams granted him the rank of Colonel in the Nevada State National Guard after serving for three previous Governors. He would also be appointed as a member of the first State Board of Agriculture, due to his vast involvement in all aspects of ranching and irrigation in the fertile Lovelock Valley. He would pass on in 1916, but his legacy would continue through many generations of grand children, who would live in this area., The house you are admiring was built in 1875 on what was the Big Meadows Ranch. It is an Italianete style house inspired by the architecture from the 16” century Italian Renaissance. This was the grandest ranch house in the valley and a true testament to the richness of the area. The ranch would grow to over 3400 acres, and would be well known though out the western states. While boasting fertile alfalfa and grain fields and 300 dairy cows, the true gem was the award winning cattle and horse breeds. This house was purchased in 1980 and donated to Pershing County. It was then moved to the western edge of where the ranch was and stands here today for your enjoyment.