The Bowers Mansion was built in 1863 by Lemuel "Sandy" Bowers and his wife, Eilley Orrum Bowers, and is a prime example of the homes built in Nevada by the new millionaires of the Comstock Lode mining boom. The mansion, designed by J. Neely Johnson, a builder and ex-governor of California, combined Georgian Revival and Italianate architectural styles. It was modeled after a design conceived by Eilley based on her recollection of elegant buildings in her native Scotland. Following the death of Sandy Bowers in 1868, Eilley fell on hard financial times. She generated income by renting out rooms in the mansion and hosting parties and picnics on the grounds. The mansion hosted a ball for the women's suffrage movement and was the location of the annual Miner's Ball. The period of 1873–75 was the height of the mansion's popularity. However, this was not enough to overcome Eilley's debts and she finally lost her home to foreclosure in 1876. The mansion was abandoned by the time Henry Riter acquired it and operated it as a resort until 1946. The building is currently owned and operated by the Washoe County Parks Department. Some 500 Nevada families have donated period furniture housed in the mansion. The park blends the historical site with recreational facilities such as a spring-fed swimming pool, picnic areas, and a playground. The Bowers Mansion is located in Washoe Valley, within the Bowers Mansion Regional Park at 4005 Old U.S. Highway 395 North, North Washoe Valley, Nevada.

The pyramid-shaped island tufa that lies along the east shore of the lake and is the reason the lake was named Pyramid Lake. Pyramid Lake is the geographic sink of the Truckee River Basin, 40 mi (64 km) northeast of Reno. Pyramid Lake is fed by the Truckee River, which is mostly the outflow from Lake Tahoe. The Truckee River enters Pyramid Lake at its southern end. Pyramid Lake has no outlet, with water leaving only by evaporation, or sub-surface seepage (an endorheic lake). The lake has about 10% of the area of the Great Salt Lake, but it has about 25% more volume. The salinity is approximately 1/6 that of sea water. Although clear Lake Tahoe forms the headwaters that drain to Pyramid Lake, the Truckee River delivers more turbid waters to Pyramid Lake after traversing the steep Sierra terrain and collecting moderately high silt-loaded surface runoff. Pyramid Lake is the site of some of the Earth's most spectacular tufa deposits. Tufa is a rock composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) that forms at the mouth of a spring, from lake water, or from a mixture of spring and lake water. The explorer John C. Fremont (1845) wrote about the tufas during his 1843-44 expedition and named the lake after the pyramidal-shaped island that lies along the east shore of the lake. The Paiute name for the island is Wono, meaning cone-shaped basket. The Paiute name for the lake is Cui-Ui Panunadu, meaning fish in standing water.

From Union Pacific Railroad Collection (MS-00397). The scales are noted in the drawing. The bottom of the drawing says, "Material-Finish: All Finish Lumber Unless Otherwise Noted Shall Be [Opsas?] Wood Work Of Vault Shall Be O.P Rough. Exterior Of Privy Including Both Sides Of Door And Door Jamb: Also Wood Lattice Screen On All Sides Shall Be Painted With 3 Coats C.S. Lead & Oil Paint As Directed. Doors Shall Be Hung On 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" Botts. Doors Shall Be Provided With Rim Latch Knob Lock And Iron Barrel Bolt. Revisions: Added Vent Stacks, Seat Cover, Double Floor & Floor Shoe". 

The bottom corner of the drawing states, "Union Pacific System L.A. & S.L.R.R. Double Privy 5'x8' With Lattice Screen. Ass't Chief Engineer's Office. Los Angeles, Calif. Drawn By E.C.B. Traced By E.C.B. Checked By F.W.G. Date June 14, 1926. Scale As Noted. Revised May 5. 1927. Drawing No. 15637".

Also written on the drawing: "Two to be built at East Yard, Calif. One ' ' Big Springs, Nev. ' ' Las Vegas, Nev. ' ' Borden, Utah. ' ' Elgin, Nev. 1927. ' ' Dry Lake, Nev. 1927. ' '  Wann ' ' 1928 [crossed out]."