Repurposed Furniture Antiques and Home Decor 272-6500 16282 Mt. Olive Rd., Grass Valley, CA( Chicago Park) • Open Wednesday-Sunday
Main St. Antiques & Books
PIONEERS
H I S T O R Y
����������������������������������������
By Don Baumgart
�UNDREDS OF GAMBLERS swarmed to the west coast when word was received back east there was gold in California. Most set up in San Francisco where they strip-mined cash from new arrivals and lightened the load of successful miners heading home.
Other gamblers went to the source, the mines. The monte table drew miners like a magnet, while faro tables did a thriving business. One camp boasted few amenities, but had a dozen monte tables.
In 1854, French-born Madame Moustache set up her gambling tables in Nevada City on Broad Street. Born Eleanore Dumont, the celebrated lady gambler was plump, her figure easily spotted in her house of chance. Enticed by female help in
AN INNER SANCTUM
BOOKS, MAGAZINES, EPHEMERA, General Stock and Rare / Collectible for all ages ART, FURNITURE, ACCESSORIES
308 Broad St., Nevada City • 478-9905 Appt: 265-3998 Open Daily except Tues. the throwing away of their hard-earned dust, miners flocked to her establishment.
Miners quickly attained the reputation of being the most reckless gamblers in the country. Those who had taken their fling at the card games, lost their pokes and sometimes their claims, panned for gold in the sweepings from saloon floors.
The 1850 census showed more than half the population of California was made up of men in their twenties. Only eight per cent of the residents were women. Young men would commonly ride horseback as far as Oregon to seek brides.
Some Gold Rush women made fortunes doing laundry and cooking in the mining camps. Others realized it was neither marriage nor clean clothes that miners wanted.
ANTIQUE GALLERY
“ Come browse through Grass Valley’ s finest antique store!”
202 W. Main St.
Downtown Grass Valley
( 1 ⁄ 2 block down from the Holbrooke Hotel)
( 530) 272-2327
A man visiting Nevada City in 1850 wrote home reporting on a local sporting house that was an accepted part of the local business scene.
Opened in 1852, the Pavilion House bordello courted customers on Broad Street. Nearby, the French Saloon provided wom en at the corner of Pine and Commercial Streets. The census of 1870 listed 37 prostitutes in Nevada City. Many were Chinese. If small fortunes were made in the camps, large fortunes were made by ladies of the night who sought out miners in San Francisco. These women mined their gold in ornate bedrooms of the city’ s bordellos. After all, what better thing did a gold-totin’ miner have to do with his gold than spend it on a fancy lady.
Repurposed Furniture Antiques and Home Decor 272-6500 16282 Mt. Olive Rd., Grass Valley, CA( Chicago Park) • Open Wednesday-Sunday
Main St. Antiques & Books
Always Buying Antiques & Books
OPEN TWICE YEARLY! 9 DAYS ONLY OCT. 8-16, 2016 MAY 6-14, 2017
Great Re-purposed Finds!
Vintage on Main
Vintage on Neal Street oldbooks @ nccn. net
130 NEVADA COUNTY GOLD
214 ½ Main St. Nevada City 530-277-7949
Kodo Arts
Japanese Antiques Warehouse
571 Searls Ave, Nevada City, CA 95959 530-478-0812 www. kodo-arts. com
Furniture Home Decor Garden
102 W. Main St. Foothill Flowers
311-B Neal Street 530.263.5473 530.802.5335
Two Locations in Downtown Grass Valley