Rinckel Mansion

102 N Curry St, Carson City, NV

Constructed in 1876.

This mansion at the corner of King and Curry Streets, only two blocks from the State Capitol, was built by miner-turned-butcher Mathias Rinckel. No expense was spared in building it, and the craftsmanship can be seen inside and out. The doors are handmade, and the windows are morticed and pegged so they need few nails. No expense was spared on the furnishings either. Most of the furniture was brought from Europe by ship, and Rinckel used the latest technologies from the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition to outfit his house. Rinckel himself died after only three years, but the house stayed with his wife and daughter until 1960.

Nevada State Historical Marker #252 sits right outside. It reads:

Completed in 1876, this palatial residence represents one of the finest and best preserved examples of High Victorian Italianate architecture remaining in the American West.

Charles H. Jones, a French-schooled designer, constructed the residence for Mathias Rinckel using European craftsmen. The mansion is constructed of pressed brick resting upon a sandstone ashlar foundation. The sandstone originated from the Nevada State Prison quarry. The brick came from Carson Valley and knot-free lumber was obtained from the pine forests of Lake Tahoe.

Rinckel, a German immigrant and pioneer Carson City merchant, accumulated a degree of wealth in the gold fields in the Feather River district of California from 1849 to 1859. He increased his fortune in mining at Virginia City during that city's infancy. In 1863, Rinckel settled in Carson City, where he engaged in livestock and butchering. As a successful merchant, he supplied the mining and timber districts surrounding Eagle Valley with meat.

Today the Rinckel Mansion houses the Donald W. Reynolds Press Center.