Cheryl Anne Stapp

When he died October 1, 1876, James Lick was the wealthiest man in California. From his deathbed in Lick House—the sumptuous San...

Ever since the westward migration of the 1840s and 1850s brought dogs in large numbers to California, stray and abandoned animals have...

In days long ago, San Francisco had a horrific stray dog problem as hordes of scrapping, feral mutts roamed the city unrestrained. Most...

This year, the California State Fair—touted as the State Fair & Food Festival—runs from July 14 through July 30. As in past years, the...

We call them Aphorisms: those pointed, succinct, pithy observations through which we express a truth or general wisdom of what is, not...

The self-proclaimed Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, was a colorful citizen of San Francisco from the...

Hubert Howe Bancroft is one of the most famous names in western America, as the man who became one of the first important and respected...

This gemstone—rarer than diamonds—is only found in San Benito County, California. Sometimes called the “blue diamond,” Benitoite...

In 1849, California’s Gold Rush population, statewide, was 92% male. As reported in the Eastern press, the state of affairs in that...

The mighty smith of folklore was the blacksmith, who worked with iron and steel and whose hammer wielded more force than his fellow...

Seen from the outside, Winchester Mystery House is an enormous, grand jumble of fanciful turrets and spires. Inside, the sprawling...

Harriet Russell Strong was a brilliant woman who overcame personal heartbreak and financial catastrophe to become an agriculturist, a...

Many centuries before European explorers found California—for at least 10,000 and possibly as many as 20,000 years—an indigenous people...

The upstart new style in ladies’ fashions was quite unconventional. Yet it was seen everywhere across America throughout the 1850s...

There’s something about the coming of a new year that inspires us to symbolically shed the ups and downs of the past twelve months and...

Merry Christmas, everyone! May your holiday be a joyous one with family and friends. What are you having for Christmas dinner? A big...

In July 1849, as hordes of gold-rushing men were swarming into California, a French hairdresser arrived in San Francisco and immediately...

President Abraham Lincoln decreed Thanksgiving as an official national holiday in 1863. Before then, New England and other regions...

Its official name was The Central Overland California and Pike’s Peak Express Company, but that was too unwieldy, so everyone just called...

His namesakes are Stanislaus County, and the Stanislaus River. He was Chief Estanislao, famous for leading bands of armed Native...