Cheryl Anne Stapp
The Old Stage Lines
Stagecoach travel in California’s 1850s Gold Rush era— and beyond—was no sedate buggy ride in the park. Passengers frequently complained...
top of page
California's Olden Golden Days
Search
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Feb 8
- 2 min
Fatal Contest
Haste was the imperative to bedazzled gold-rushers, men near-frantic to get to the gold fields and stake their claim on a promising slice...
5 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Nov 30, 2022
- 2 min
Calamity in Jackson
Years after the railroad came to Ione, the stagecoach was still a primary transportation mode in Amador County, and horses used for...
6 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Jul 27, 2022
- 2 min
Historic Riverboat
It’s a hotel, restaurant and special events facility permanently moored at the Old Sacramento Riverfront now, but ninety-odd years ago...
13 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Jun 8, 2022
- 3 min
The Sacramento: River of Gold
At 447 miles in length the Sacramento River is the longest river that flows through California, with a watershed that encompasses more...
82 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Jun 1, 2022
- 3 min
Ocean Shore Railroad
In May 1905, the public was thrilled when newspapers announced that a new enterprise was to build a railroad on a scenic route between...
9 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- May 11, 2022
- 2 min
Foiled Intrigue
Perhaps it’s only myth or legend (for sure, certain story elements are questionable), but nonetheless it’s a romantic tale, published as...
1 view0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Apr 27, 2022
- 2 min
Legendary Hank Monk
Gregarious, quick of mind and firm of hand on the reins, stage driver Hank Monk was a legend in his own lifetime—revered across the West...
3 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Apr 19, 2022
- 3 min
Serving California by Sea
In the Age of Sail, not everyone who entered California’s harbors came to settle. In the early 1820s, the ships of many nations began...
3 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Jan 12, 2022
- 2 min
The Pretty Girl Stage Driver
The stage arrived in Oroville right on time that morning in October 1893; yet at the first sight of it, the townsfolk were astounded....
8 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Dec 1, 2021
- 3 min
Accident on the Cliff House Road
The press treated the accident as a sensation—and why not? All the elements were there: women of ill-repute, stampeding horses, and a...
5 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Nov 17, 2021
- 3 min
He Robbed the Wrong Woman
The old mining town in Nevada County is gone now, but Red Dog had its heyday in the 1860s, when the place had nearly two thousand...
6 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Sep 22, 2021
- 3 min
Icon of Days Gone By
Thanks to abundant product and clever ad campaigns from the 1890s forward, Death Valley, California, is arguably the world’s most famous...
7 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Sep 15, 2021
- 2 min
Stagecoach Accidents
Oftentimes, stagecoach accidents resulted in lawsuits for injuries received. This one, Sprague vs. Dillon, went to trial in San...
16 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Jul 28, 2021
- 2 min
The Splendid California Stage Company
The California Gold Rush revitalized the stagecoach industry, which was waning in New England by the end of the 1840s, due to the rise of...
8 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Jun 23, 2021
- 3 min
Steamboats on the Rivers
During the California Gold Rush, a number of steam-powered ships chugged up and down between San Francisco Bay and the major northern...
4 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Jun 16, 2021
- 2 min
Hideaway in Plain Sight
In the 1850s the Mountaineer House was a well-known tavern and busy stage stop where multiple stagecoach lines rolled in daily to change...
4 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Jun 2, 2021
- 2 min
Charley's Secret
So many legends surround the nineteenth century stage driver Charley Parkhurst that it’s difficult now to separate fact from fiction. In...
7 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Dec 9, 2020
- 1 min
The Dragon Rocks Lighthouse
In 1865, the overloaded passenger steamer Brother Jonathan suddenly encountered severe winds and rough seas after leaving San Francisco...
17 views0 comments
Cheryl Anne Stapp
- Nov 18, 2020
- 2 min
The Man Who Engineered Miracles
Theodore Dehone Judah was the brilliant engineer and visionary who convinced a group of Sacramento merchants, and the United States...
6 views0 comments
bottom of page