House (Senator Francis G. Newlands House)

Senator Francis G. Newlands was the first person to build a residence in the neighborhood named for him. A major figure in Nevada politics, Newlands was responsible for the National Reclamation Act of 1902, which brought the state its first federally funded irrigation project. One of Nevada's few National Historic Landmarks, the building is an excellent example of the Shingle Style, which is rare in Nevada because its popularity coincided with a statewide economic depression that curtailed construction. Although the building is difficult to see from Elm Court, it is visible from the Truckee River.

The two-and-one-half-story house has a prominent cross-gable roof and shingle-sided walls. A one-story library wing on the southeast side of the building was added around the turn of the century. For a number of years the house stood alone on the bluff, but in the early decades of the twentieth century, when Nevada's economy hit a boom cycle, other mansions joined it. Near the gate of the property is a small stone English cottage (c. 1929), designed by Frederick J. DeLongchamps as his home.