Have you ever driven past Cook’s and Ham’s Stations on Highway 88, and wanted to know their stories? Yup, these were original old “stations” along the early Amador and Nevada Wagon Road in the 1860s! Here’s the scoop: The “Volcano Cut-Off” had ferried travelers from the Old Emigrant Road in this direction since 1852. Then […]
The Jackson Bordellos
Keep an eye peeled for a patch in the sidewalk outside Jackson’s Bank of America next time you visit. If it looks like something once sat here and has since been removed, well, it did and it was. All that’s left now is a slightly darker square of concrete. But there’s a great tale that goes with it! […]
Veterans’ Day
In honor of Veterans’ Day, here are the true stories of two nearly-forgotten veterans! Both are buried at the historic Fredericksburg Cemetery, just off Highway 88. Tucked beneath a shady smoke tree (roughly in the center of the photo) is the grave of Kermit Neddenriep. When we first began researching, we knew nothing about Kermit […]
Silver Lake Hotel
The ad announcing the opening of the Silver Lake Hotel in June, 1866 spared no adjectives. The air was “pure,” the scenery “delightful,” the lake itself “bottomless” and “abounding with delicious trout.” And if “sweltering mortals” from Sacramento and San Joaquin needed further inducement to travel the Amador Road for a visit, the proprietors urged […]