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
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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