Willowtown & Northam
Willowtown - Willowtown, also known as The Willows, was an early settlement along the Carson River. Established in 1854 by Thomas Pitt, it was named for the willows that grow in the area. It never maintained a post office.
Northam - Edmund and Magdalena Deitz arrived from Indianapolis and purchased their ranch along the Carson River in 1908. Within the year, Mr. Deitz was able to establish a post office on his ranch, named for him birthplace of Northeim in Germany. In 1914, Northam lent its name to a new schoolhouse, which served the area until 1947. While the name Northam has since been largely forgotten, ranches are still in operation in the area and the foundation of the Northam School still stands in a field amid a group of trees. Less than a half mile upstream is Carson Diversion Dam, which was completed in September 1905 as a part of the Newlands Irrigation Project.
The wooden structures that I have pictures of are in the general vicinity of both Willowtown and Northam, but are likely closer in age to Northam. The bridge (now gone) was moved here in 1933 by George Frey, and originally served as a bridge on the Lincoln Highway crossing the Truckee Canal at Lahontan City.
