Tucked in the woods with a stunning view of Lake Tahoe is the Pope Estate, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

From the signage outside:

“The Pope Estate is the largest of the three estates at the Tallac Historic Site. In 1894, George E. Tallant, built a 2,000 square foot rustic-style summer cabin on this site. Five years later, San Francisco businessman William Tevis and his wife, Mirabella Pachecho bought it and expanded it to more than twice its original size. The grounds include a number of outbuildings, an arboretum and a pond.

George A. Pope bought the estate in 1923, renaming it Vatican Lodge, a humorous reference to the family’s name. The Popes added several additions to the property and used the estate in the summers until 1965, when the family transferred the land and buildings to the US Forest Service.”

All three families were involved in the banking industry at top levels. Unfortunately, Tevis wound up losing his fortune in a company that went bankrupt and lost the estate he spent so much time building up.

Fun fact: George Pope’s son, George Jr., followed in his footsteps becoming a bank director. He also won the Kentucky Derby twice with his horses and became president of the lumber and shipping business, Pope and Talbot Inc., in 1940.

The Pope estate and its many buildings are part of the Tallac Historic Site, which also includes the Baldwin estate to be featured in the coming weeks.