Cheryl Anne Stapp6 days ago1 minDog Town DiggingsMore than one gold rush mining camp was dubbed “dog town” by its inhabitants—miner’s slang for coarse, thrown-together encampments of...
Cheryl Anne StappMay 112 minFoiled IntriguePerhaps it’s only myth or legend (for sure, certain story elements are questionable), but nonetheless it’s a romantic tale, published as...
Cheryl Anne StappFeb 23 minStriking Gold in Angels CampMark Twain said he based his short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” on what he thought, at the time, was a...
Cheryl Anne StappJan 263 minGolden IslandNot long after Marshall’s January 24th gold discovery at Coloma, three men stumbled upon a second gold find downriver—which became one of...
Cheryl Anne StappJan 122 minThe Pretty Girl Stage DriverThe stage arrived in Oroville right on time that morning in October 1893; yet at the first sight of it, the townsfolk were astounded....
Cheryl Anne StappJul 28, 20212 minThe Splendid California Stage CompanyThe California Gold Rush revitalized the stagecoach industry, which was waning in New England by the end of the 1840s, due to the rise of...
Cheryl Anne StappJun 2, 20212 minCharley's SecretSo many legends surround the nineteenth century stage driver Charley Parkhurst that it’s difficult now to separate fact from fiction. In...
Cheryl Anne StappMay 26, 20213 minBayley's Grand DreamThe palatial hotel that A. J. Bayley built long ago in California’s gold country still stands, though it’s empty now, and encircled by a...
Cheryl Anne StappApr 21, 20214 minThe 1906 San Francisco EarthquakeOne hundred fifteen years ago last Sunday, on April 18, 1906—a Wednesday—a devastating earthquake struck the northern coast of California...
Cheryl Anne StappMar 24, 20213 minDame Shirley's Gold MinePraised as the most delightful first-person account of California’s gold mines, The Shirley Letters is a collection of 23 letters written...
Cheryl Anne StappMar 17, 20213 minMargaret Frink, Pioneer HousewifeIn the spring of 1850—bedazzled by sensational reports coming back from the California gold fields—Margaret and Ledyard Frink excitedly...
Cheryl Anne StappFeb 3, 20213 minRiches to RagsTheodor Cordua was the first European to establish a permanent settlement on the site of present-day Marysville, California. Ambitious,...
Cheryl Anne StappSep 30, 20202 minHall & Crandall's Stage LinesMany New England stagemen, whose livelihoods there were being steadily squeezed by the railroads, followed thousands of bedazzled gold...
Cheryl Anne StappAug 26, 20203 minMail Carriers Hit Pay DirtThe bedazzled gold-rushers who swarmed into California in 1849 soon complained of many things—inflated prices, low-quality foodstuffs,...
Cheryl Anne StappJul 29, 20202 minFirst Great Gold Camp on the FeatherIn July 1848, a young man named John Bidwell discovered gold on the Middle Fork of the Feather River. His discovery was not by chance....
Cheryl Anne StappJul 15, 20202 minThe Next Big Gold StrikeSeveral weeks elapsed after the January 1848 gold discovery before people started believing it was genuine…and then events started...
Cheryl Anne StappJul 8, 20201 minFormerly, The ForksDownieville sits in a magnificent, rugged, wooded natural amphitheater surrounded by lofty, pine-covered peaks. The town, founded in late...
Cheryl Anne StappApr 29, 20201 minRaging InfernosEvery town or village was vulnerable to fire during the early Gold Rush years, and few escaped its ravages. Thousands of prospectors in...
Cheryl Anne StappApr 8, 20202 minThe Mechanical Water SystemSacramento’s Water Works Building was the city’s answer to its need for a reliable water supply system that could prevent a small fire...