This charming cottage may hold a giant secret: it just could be Markleeville’s oldest surviving original structure from its Silver Rush heydays. We know that the home is over a century old – photographs show it in 1905, when it served as the residence of George and Nellie Koenig. (George owned a bar known as Koenig’s Exchange, conveniently located […]
Silver Mountain City’s Stone Jail
If you’ve ever traveled California’s lonely Highway 4, you may have seen these mysterious stone ruins. They’re one of the few tangible remains of Silver Mountain City, Alpine County’s original county seat. This was the county’s jail, built in 1867 and built to last! Eighteen-inch outer walls were hewn from the volcanic cliff east of […]
Fredericksburg Cemetery Tale
Fredericksburg Cemetery It’s a tiny gem of a cemetery, nestled on the eastern shoulder of the great Sierra Nevada. It’s also the last remaining vestige of the once-thriving ghost town of Fredericksburg, one of Alpine County’s earliest settlements. Since its first burial in 1895, Fredericksburg Cemetery has become the final resting place for many Alpine pioneers — and remains home to […]
Lute Olds’ Nine Lives
Think you have problems? Carson Valley pioneer Luther Olds most likely has you beat. Among the disasters in his disaster-prone life: A “row” took place at his residence in 1858 in which women were said to be hanging out the windows in horror and several men were stabbed in the arm, back, and hand. Olds […]
Charles Fiske
Charles Fiske (or Fisk) was born in Vermont in 1813, and operated a store in Old Town, Maine for many years. He and his wife, Mary Ann (Eaton) had 13 children. Charles’ older brother Royal was a merchant in California, and although Charles wrote that he wished to see “fancy places,” he felt he […]
Black Bean Succotash
It’s summer . . . and time for picnic-on-the-back-porch fare! This quick and easy recipe takes just minutes to prepare, and uses all the good things of the season: fresh corn, cilantro, avocado, and of course, tomatoes! If you have a sous-chef in the household, put them to work crisping the corn tortillas while you […]
Food Fun
I’ve always loved vegetables. But spiralizing them adds a new dimension to cooking. I haven’t had so much fun with food since my sisters and I engaged in a cookie dough-throwing contest! (Mom did not approve). Spiralizing makes vegetables just plain fun. Good food is beautiful — and doesn’t this just look good enough to eat! For the recipe, click Here. […]
The Unsung Founder of Markleeville
Poor Jacob Markley. A century and a half after his death, the man who bestowed his name on the town of Markleeville remains mostly a mystery. Still, a few details of his life remain: Markley was born March 6, 1821 in Dundas, Ontario, Canada and emigrated to Virginia in his youth. In the late 1840s […]
Eliza Withington
Her real name was Elizabeth, but everyone still calls her “Eliza.” She was born Eliza Kirby in New York in 1825. By the age of 20 she was residing in Michigan, marrying George Withington there in 1845. When the gold rush began, George — like so many others — joined a company of men and […]
Spielvogel Mystery
The mystery of the Spielvogels has been bugging me for years now. This picture, one of about 50 old black-and-whites, arrived in an envelope courtesy of an eBay find. From the cryptic legends it was clear the family was from Northern Michigan or perhaps Ontario. They owned a farm. The old homestead was in Prescott, and Arley […]