Rotarians clean out historic Osgood Toll House

Tahoe Douglas Rotarians spent Saturday cleaning out the historic Osgood Toll House, the oldest standing building in South Lake Tahoe. They took out hundreds of items including windows, doors, window frames, shutters and boards. After removing them they cataloged each item, cleaned and dried them and then stacked them back in the toll house.

A fundraising effort is going on to restore the Osgood Toll House so everyone can go inside and see a glimpse into history. Lake Tahoe Historical Society President Bob Harms started the effort in Fall of 2014 after the group received a $8,000 grant from Washington, DC Preservation's Conservation Assessment Program. A preservationist examined the toll house and provided the Society with a 34 page report advising them what must be done, what needs to be done, and how it should be done. The Rotarians working at the property helped him meet his goal of $5,000 by donating the last few hundred dollars needed.

Long before the road between Placerville and Virginia City was paved and maintained by state transportation departments, the job of keeping roads clear of rocks and snow fell on opportunistic land owners.

The steady stream of prospectors from the declining gold fields in California to the 1858 silver strike in Virginia City created considerable damage, as well as traffic jams, along the route.

An opportunist name Nehemiah Osgood arrived in the South Shore from his home in New Hampshire in 1859. He built a toll house at the base of Echo Summit which was known then as Meyers Grade and Osgood Grade. He build the house where Echo Creek merged with the Upper Truckee River. Osgood collected money from those passing by for road maintenance. The road was busy in both directions with coaches, freight schooners, bullion wagons, carrying the tides of prospectors eastward to the Comstock Lode, and Pony Express riders. The typical toll was 5 cents per animal and 6 bits for men and their wagons.

Once the railroad made it's way west the need for toll houses disappeared and the Osgood Toll House was abandoned in 1898.

The toll house moved down Echo Creek during a flood, ending on the Celio Ranch where it remained and used for storage for 50 years. The Lake Tahoe Historical Society moved the structure to the corner of Rufus Allen Blvd and Highway 50 in 1974, then again to it's current resting place behind the museum in 1991.

The Tahoe Douglas Rotarians worked all day at the toll house as part of an international day of volunteering, "Rotarians at Work Day." For more information on the club, and to find out how you can join, visit their website.

The club is hosting a 3k Walk to End Polio on Saturday, May 16 in South Lake Tahoe.