Truckee is currently without a Nevada County Historical Landmarks commissioner to represent the area. Could it be you?
Created in 1969, the purpose of the NCHLC is to “promote the general welfare of Nevada County and its citizens through official recognition, recording, marking, preserving, and promoting” Nevada County historical resources. Appointed by the Nevada County Board of Supervisors, 10 commissioners meet monthly at sites around Nevada County to review applications and address additional questions raised by prospective applicants. This is an all-volunteer engagement.
To date, the NCHLC has landmarked over 200 sites in Nevada County, with 25 landmarks or cultural resources in the Truckee area.
One of the most interesting facets of the NCHLC is that you learn so much about what you probably don’t know. As a commissioner, someone else has already done all the research. All you have to do is to read, verify, and check that all the historical puzzle pieces fit together nicely.
Supported by members of the Truckee-Donner Historical Society (TDHS), a commissioner representing District 5-Truckee generally reviews and validates submitted applications county-wide. They help to guide prospective applicants, direct them to other relevant source material, and make suggestions to further explore a proposed landmark site or resource. Commissioners also assist in identifying historical resources and sites in Nevada County that are worthy of landmark designation.
The District 5 position has been vacant since 2025, after Barbara Czerwinski, PhD, who served on the commission for 13 years, stepped down. She also acted as a sponsor for several landmark applications specifically for Truckee sites, including the Memorial Arch, Truckee Veterans Memorial Building and Rocking Stone, Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company, McGlashan Butterfly Collection, Truckee Chinatowns, and Church of the Mountains landmarks. The applications are fascinating to read and review as they represent historical sites or resources that have graced Nevada County for decades.
As a volunteer with the TDHS, I have learned more from the NCHLC’s purpose-driven historical research and interactions than any amount of reading could provide. Interacting with the other commissioners also provide social connections, helping to bridge west and east Nevada County so that both areas collaborate.
Much of the research done in preparation for a specific landmark nomination leads to unique discoveries, and you learn more along the way about other events and sites. With a possible occasional side trip to Nevada City, Grass Valley, or other surrounding areas, involvement with the NCHLC invites exploration of greater Nevada County. If broad-based historical investigation intrigues you, volunteering to become a NCHLC commissioner representing District 5-Truckee, then this position is for you.
As a commissioner, you may also discover otherwise hidden gems stashed away in obscure sites that beg further inquiry. A great example is the recent discovery of the Richard L.P. Bigelow (1902-1936) diary hiding in plain sight at a US Forest Service office.
One of the more recent NCHLC issues is the fate of the Donner Trail Memorial Cross, which rotted and fell over in June 2025. Since then, TDHS has expended monumental efforts to get a new replacement cross erected on the dedicated easement on Donner Pass Road, just east of the West Truckee Center and west of Truckee Elementary School.
In 2024, the NCHLC commissioners concluded that the Donner Trail Memorial Cross deserved landmarking status. Supporting documentation substantiated the fact that the Donner Trail Memorial Cross was part of a triumvirate of National Register of Historic Places designated by the federal government for all three non-contiguous Donner Camp sites – Murphy-Breen, Graves-Reed, and Donner Alder Creek.
Please consider joining the NCHLC as a commissioner representing District V-Truckee. To submit your name, contact Hardy Bullock, District 5 Nevada County Supervisor, at hardy.bullock@nevadacountyca.gov.
The NCHLC celebrated 50 years in 2019. Without a commissioner representing Truckee, we will be at a disadvantage in helping to keep Truckee history alive and thriving.
~ Heidi Sproat lives in Truckee and is the current webmaster, map and image coordinator, as well as a research historian for the Truckee-Donner Historical Society. Heidi grew up in Oakland, but has lived in Pennsylvania, Washington, Tennessee, and now spends shoulder seasons in Frederick, Maryland. Truckee is her happy outdoor place.
