Virginia Harriman discusses her life on the Harriman Ranch with her husband and his grandparents. (5 minutes)
LaVOY: And then after you announced that you were married, where did you live?
HARRIMAN: Oh, we lived with his folks for a while.
LaVOY: Where was that?
HARRIMAN: On the Harriman ranch.
LaVOY: That’s in the Northam District.
HARRIMAN: Out where we live now.
LaVOY: Oh, you lived with his parents for how long?
HARRIMAN: Oh, about two and a half years. And then we fixed up the old house. They had people living in it at the time, and we took and fixed it up and moved there.
LaVOY: Were the Harrimans one of the early settlers here in Fallon?
HARRIMAN: Not the earliest. Grandad was.
LaVOY: What was grandad’s name?
HARRIMAN: He was Edwin Sylvester Harriman
LaVOY: And when did he come here? Approximately.
HARRIMAN: I’m not sure when he came here. He and Tom Dolf were in on the Dolf ranch.
LaVOY: As partners?
HARRIMAN: Uh-huh. Then they flipped a coin. They weren’t getting along very well, so they flipped a coin to see who was going to get the ranch, and grandad didn’t get it, so he went on down to the Danielson ranch and started that one up.
LaVOY: And where is that?
HARRIMAN: Down in the Harmon district.
LaVOY: How, they had worked together getting this Dolf ranch going, and at the flip of a coin he lost it. He didn’t take anything from the ranch. Just walked away?
HARRIMAN: Oh, yes.
LaVOY: Oh my.
HARRIMAN: (laughs) that’s what I said!
LaVOY: How the Danielson ranch, how long was he on that?
HARRIMAN: Well, grandad Harriman was born there, my father in law. And then they went on down to Stillwater and he started another ranch up down there.
LaVOY: I see. And then when did he move over here to the Northam District?
HARRIMAN: They came here about 1900.
LaVOY: So how long were they on the Danielson ranch?
HARRIMAN: I don’t think too long down there. And then they went on down to Stillwater and started one up down there.
LaVOY: Did they raise cattle? Did they raise beets, or what?
HARRIMAN: No, I think they just farmed it. They just were starting out then.
LaVOY: And then what prompted them to come back here to the Northam District?
HARRIMAN: Well, he went in partners with Tom Small. I think he was partners with him. Anyhow, he took his horses and everything and moved up there, and that’s where he stayed.
LaVOY: Now, how big a ranch was it when he started?
HARRIMAN: I don’t think it was too big. He bought up wood lots.
LaVOY: What do you mean he bought up wood lots?
HARRIMAN: Well, there’s wood up there, and he bought those all up.
LaVOY: By wood, you mean cottonwood trees?
HARRIMAN: Uh-huh.
LaVOY: And what did he do? Chop them all down and sell the wood?
HARRIMAN: I guess. Uh-huh.
LaVOY: Oh, that’s what you were referring to as wood lots. And then did he clear the fields?
HARRIMAN: Oh, yes. Uh-huh
LaVOY: After the wood was chopped down. Well that was a lot of work.
HARRIMAN: Oh, you bet. He was a good worker and he made the boys work.
LaVOY: Did your husband help chop trees in later years?
HARRIMAN: No, no. Oh, yeah, they got trees later. But then, no, it was all pretty well set up when Earl, and then we bought more ground.
LaVOY: From whom?
HARRIMAN: We bought it from Grandma Harriman. And then we put in the ground that hadn’t been put in.
LaVOY: Is this along the Carson River?
HARRIMAN: Um-hum
LaVOY: Are you on both sides of the river?
HARRIMAN: Yes.
LaVOY: Now, is your home on the west side of the river, or the east side?