Cheryl Anne Stapp

Gunplay was so common during the chaotic, early days of the California Gold Rush that many incidents, though duly reported, drew little...

By 1884 California was leading the nation in educational innovations with its system of pre-grammar-school schools, based on ideas...

The proverb “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” is from the 17th century play The Mourning Bride, and means that no one is angrier...

In bygone days Californians celebrated the coming of a new year much like we do today, with parties, games, spectator sports, and...

The Americans who trekked to California in covered wagons made that arduous journey because they wanted to find a better life for...

Whether they came to California overland or by sea in 1849, hordes of predominately young men were joyfully exuberant, for they were...

Genuine settlers might have been the minority of the California Gold Rush-era population, but in the years before the gold discovery...

The press treated the accident as a sensation—and why not? All the elements were there: women of ill-repute, stampeding horses, and a...

Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving Day with friends, family, and a table loaded with the traditional fare: roast turkey with all the...

During the centuries it belonged to Spain, and the few decades it was a province of Mexico, California had no homestead laws that gave...

California’s north-south cultural split began as early as 1821, the year Mexico won its independence from Spain and acquired the province...

Quilt making in the nineteenth century was more than just the home-crafted production of usable warm bedding: it was more often than not...

Thanks to abundant product and clever ad campaigns from the 1890s forward, Death Valley, California, is arguably the world’s most famous...

In the aftermath of the Mexican-American War, California existed in a state of political limbo. The peace treaty, signed in February 1848...

Traveling medicine shows that peddled miracle cures were common in 19th century America, especially in the western states. Part...

There is no doubt that Americans have a passion for cheese: in snacks, sandwiches and main dishes. Why, Crayola even named one of its...

As Civil War hostilities rapidly escalated in July 1861—and United States Army personnel stationed in California left for eastern...

One hundred fifteen years ago last Sunday, on April 18, 1906—a Wednesday—a devastating earthquake struck the northern coast of California...

Nineteenth century singles had limited ways in which to meet someone to marry, especially those singles who lived in rural areas. This...

Praised as the most delightful first-person account of California’s gold mines, The Shirley Letters is a collection of 23 letters written...