Carson landmark heads south

In 1935, when Edward Charles Marriage decided to build a new house in Carson City for his family, homes were the rule in the Stewart and Proctor neighborhood.

Now Marriage's grandson, Alan, 46, is working to move the family home to a place more like the Carson City of 67 years ago.

There are more parking lots than homes along Stewart Street today, and the Marriage home is the last in the block.

Across Stewart, there is a bank. Just up the street, the tan brick face of the State Library and Archives rises up from the sidewalk.

Alan, who was born in Carson City, has photo albums filled with pictures of the home back in the 1940s when his grandfather and grandmother, Evelyn, lived in the home.

"I've got the original deed to the property," he said. "The original price for the home and land was $2,800."

In the preparation to move the home, Alan has discovered some artifacts that predate it, particularly in the basement.

"There is a lot of older wood underneath," he said. "I found a piece in there marked for the V&T. Someone made a cabinet from a crate."

Alan has spent the last year carefully taking the inside of the basement apart so he can bring it along.

"I've taken every wall apart and numbered the pieces," he said.

He's already pried up the curb which once separated the property from the sidewalk along Stewart and plans on taking the lawn and the dirt.

"I've worked that dirt for years, there is no way I'm leaving it here," he said.

That dirt grew the sunflowers and azaleas, which made the home a distinctive burst of color for motorists traveling along Stewart.

"A lot of people will miss it," he said. "I always had a colorful garden in the back yard."

With the family business, Chas. B. Marriage Insurance Co., right next door, Alan was able to walk to work every day.

"I've been spoiled," he said. "I never had to scrape ice off my windows or cold-start the car."

The insurance business was founded in 1949 by Alan's father, Charles, the year before his grandfather died in 1950.

But by last year, Alan felt it was time to close the business.

"After 50 years I figured it was time to close up shop," Alan said. "The big insurance companies are pushing out the small shops anyway."

Living in the home as Stewart went from being a back street to an alternative highway through Carson City was interesting.

"When I moved in, 12 windows were broken from vibrations of passing trucks," he said. "I could never keep a picture straight on the wall until they redid Stewart."

When the family moved in there were homes on either side. The V&T Railroad tracks ran along the east side of Stewart.

Home mover Ralph Lynn is helping Marriage move the house to its new site behind Greenhoouse Garden Center. The move is scheduled to take place April 7.

Edward and Evelyn Marriage moved to Carson City in 1935. He served as state librarian until his death in 1950. The elder Marriage was the founder and editor of the Caliente Herald and originally moved to Nevada in 1905. He owned an interest in the Pioche Record and the Caliente News. Those papers were consolidated into the Lincoln County Record, which still publishes.

Alan's brother, Dan, lives in Seattle. He is cousin to Minden dentist Jay Marriage.