Located on the University of Nevada Reno campus and at the top of a stairwell at the SW corner of a walkway that comprises a reservoir dam is a small, metal plaque monumented on top of a concrete base that reads:
I was able to locate a nice webpage containing a biography of John and Elizabeth Evans here and reads:
John Newton Evans was born in Defiance, Ohio, in 1835 to Mr. and Mrs. Pierce Evans. He arrived in northeastern Nevada in 1850 after driving a herd of cattle from Ohio. Three of his brothers were already in California and Nevada. John, or Newt as he was sometimes called by his family, bought land in Long Valley, Lassen County, California, in partnership with his brothers Allen and Alvaro. Together they raised alfalfa and cattle, with Newt making several trips to the east to purchase additional livestock.
During Newt's 1876 trip to Ohio he met Elizabeth Metcalf, whom he married the following year. Soon after their return to Nevada, they purchased land north of the town of Reno, at the foot of what was to become the University of Nevada, on Evans Avenue. There they built a large house and raised their six children: Mary Elizabeth Evans Robinson; John, Jr.; Pierce Rice; Rowena Evans Morghan; Nancy B. (who died in about 1901); and Ben Allen Evans.
Newt and his brothers eventually sold their Long Valley property and concentrated on building their holdings near Reno and on the Humboldt River, and on acquiring the Highland Ditch and its water rights. John N. Evans was instrumental in having the fledgling University of Nevada moved from Elko to Reno in 1885 and sold the state land upon which the campus was built. He was a director of the Bank of Nevada and Farmers' and Merchants Bank and president of the University of Nevada Board of Regents.
Mrs. Evans was very active in the Reno community. She was a leader of Trinity Episcopal Church, the Twentieth Century Club, and other organizations. She traveled to other states and made a trip to Alaska in 1915.
John Newton Evans died in an accident in 1904. After his death, his widow and surviving children formed the J.N. Evans Estate Company, Inc. to administer Evans' estate. Mrs. Evans died in 1924. The next year, the Evans' mansion was sold to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity who used it until 1953, when it was torn down and replaced by a ranch-style fraternity house. The adjacent Evans property was purchased by the City of Reno and converted into a city park (Evans Park).
HON. JOHN NEWTON EVANS. The life record of Hon. John Newton Evans forms a connecting link between the pioneer past and the progressive present in Nevada. Few of the residents of the state longer resided within its borders, for he came here when this section of the country was yet a part of the territory of Utah, arriving in the year 1859. He was but a boy when he crossed the plains in company with his brothers and settled in the midst of a pioneer country forty miles north of what is now the populous city of Reno. Since that time marked advancement has been made until the traveler of to-day can scarcely realize what was the condition of this district at the time Mr. Evans took up his abode here.
John Newton Evans, who died November 14, 1903, was born in Defiance, Ohio, on the 13th of May, 1835, of Welsh ancestry. Four brothers of the name of Evans became early settlers of Kentucky, and of one of these, Pierce Evans, his father, was a son. He was reared in Highland county, Ohio, and, removing to Fort Defiance, selected lands there long before any survey had been made. He became the owner of a number of fertile farms there, and during the greater part of his business career also carried on merchandising. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Mary Ann Braucher, a native of Highland county, Ohio, and they became the parents of eleven children, but only two are now living, Alvaro Evans being now an honored pioneer of Nevada, residing in Reno, and Mrs. Mary Arrowsmith, a resident of Long Valley, California.
In the public schools of his native state John Evans was educated, and when he was still quite young he and his brother took a drove of cattle across the plains. When they reached their destination there were only five ranches in this entire country. They became the owners of five thousand acres of land situated in the midst of an attractive district noted for its healthfulness, its excellent climate and for the good pasturage it afforded. They had brought with them about five hundred head of cattle and with these began their stockraising interests in the west. For ten years, however, the Indians frequently made raids upon their ranches, driving off the stock, sometimes getting as high as four hundred head. They belonged to the Winnemuccas, the Pah-Utes and the Sioux tribes. On each occasion that a raid was made upon the ranch Mr. Evans took command of what few men he could muster and made a brave effort to regain possession of the stock, although on each occasion he was in imminent danger of losing his own life. They made friends with a young Winnemucca, and he often warned them and put them on their guard when the Indians were about to stampede the cattle. On one occasion he came to their place and said there was a camp of Pah-Ute Indians near by, saying also that if they would arm the Indians they would go and help take the Pah-Utes. This was done and nine of the invading red men were killed and the rest hastily made their departure. The following year the Pierson family were massacred, this occurring in the spring of 1867, and Mr. Evans was always of the opinion that it was in retaliation for the punishment which the Indians had received the spring before.
At another time Mr. Evans was captain of a company of nineteen men that went in pursuit of the murderers of the Pierson family. The trail was very plain, for the ground was covered with snow, but as this was in a slushy condition it made traveling very difficult. After following the Indians for a number of days, eight of the party gave out. Mr. Evans pushed on with the remainder, hoping to come upon the Indians the next morning. They camped in the wet snow and did not dare to make a fire. They were compelled, however, to give up the pursuit, but afterward learned that they had come within five miles of the headquarters of the entire band of Indians, and had they gone any farther every one of the white men would have undoubtedly been killed. Later General Kearney inflicted upon the Indians several punishments, and they then remained peaceful until 1864. In that year Mr. Evans returned to Ohio for more stock, and on the plains he met Rigar and his company going out with about one hundred head of horses, but the Indians on the Sweetwater stampeded all of his horses. Rigar was devoid of fear and went in pursuit, but at a later date he was killed by the Indians.
During that journey across the plains Mr. Evans never allowed his horses to be out of his sight. He again crossed the plains to Texas in 1869, but the Sioux Indians were then upon the warpath and were so troublesome that he drove his two thousand head of cattle one thousand miles out of the way in order to avoid the redskins. At length they arrived safely at Fort Kearney, and from there on a company of cavalry was at every other station for the protection of the emigrants. As they proceeded some Indians made a raid upon Mr. Evans and his party, and succeeded in stampeding forty-nine of his fine horses. There were about eleven Sioux who did this depredation, and Mr. Evans followed them until the following day, when he was joined by a cavalry company and they continued in pursuit, for four days longer, but without success. Through various losses of this kind Mr. Evans had many thousand dollars' worth of claims against the government. After residing for fifteen years in Humboldt county he sold his large landed holdings there, disposing at that time of two thousand head of cattle for one hundred and sixty thousand dollars. About two years before, he and his partners had sold from the ranch ten thousand head of cattle for about twelve dollars per head. Upon leaving the farm Mr. Evans removed to Reno. Until his death he leased the Vale ranch, on which he had about one thousand head of cattle and on which he annually raised large quantities of hay. In 1878 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land adjoining Reno on the north, and on this tract built his fine commodious residence. He sub-divided a part of this land into town lots, and the Nevada State University is built upon it. Gradually the town has grown out in that direction, and some fine residences have been built upon the tract, which has become very valuable. He also owned two hundred and fifty acres of land on the west side of the city by the water works.
In 1877 Mr. Evans was married to Miss Elizabeth Metcalf, a native of Lima, Ohio, and a daughter of Judge B. F. Metcalf, one of Ohio's most prominent jurists and statesmen. The union has been blessed with six children : J. N., who is now in charge of a ranch: Ben Allen, who is a senior in the Nevada University; Mary Elizabeth, a graduate of the university: Pierce Rice, at home; Nancy B., who died in 1901; and Rowena, at home. Mr. Evans was a Republican until the silver question came prominently before the people. He never sought or held office, except serving for two terms as regent of the University of Nevada. He was one of the most prominent as well as successful representatives of stock-raising interests in the state, and there were few, if any, residents of Nevada who had been more actively connected with events framing the pioneer history of this locality. He had many encounters with the Indians and many narrow escapes, so that he seemed to possess a charmed life. His history, if written in detail, would constitute a story more thrilling than any romance of fiction, and would present a picture of pioneer experiences of which people of the present day can form no clear conception.
I am to assume that this memorial plaque was located closer to Evans Street and possibly near Evans Park. I wonder why this plaque is located here and not in Evans Park? In any event, it is nice to read about an individual who helped to relocate the campus of the University of Nevada from Elko to here.