Rancho Haven

Rancho Haven. . , Rancho Haven was originally part of the Red Rock Ranch, a family-owned cattle grazing operation that covered tens of thousands of acres of private and public lands marked by abundant springs., Danish emigrant Sophus Petersen was in the US by 1860 and by 1868 was in the Red Rock area. He acquired land and built corrals, reservoirs, and other features to convey water and manage livestock for his ranch. Sophus had four children: Ross, Sophie, Clara, and Hedvig (Hattie). In 1899, Sophus died after being crushed by an overturned hay wagon., In 1900, Hattie Petersen married Owen Chapman Dickinson of the neighboring Winnemucca Ranch. The Dickinson family added to the Petersen land holdings, built other structures, developed an airstrip, and ran the Red Rock Ranch for several decades. The family home, ranch headquarters, and two reservoirs were located in the vicinity of today’s RHPOA Community Center., In 1966, Hattie and Owen’s son Lawrence and his wife Judie sold all the ranch property , almost 23,000 deeded acres with water rights plus grazing and water rights for nearby public lands , to a group of California/Nevada investors. , In 1971, Occidental Petroleum Land and Development Corporation purchased about 4,900 acres from the group of CA/NV investors. Almost all this acreage became known as Rancho Haven. The Washoe County Board of County Commissioners approved the final Record of Survey for the Rancho Haven residential development in July of 1971. Lot sales began soon afterward., Dedicated October 18, 2025 , By Friends of Rancho Haven History and Julia C. Bulette #1864 of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus