Cheryl Anne Stapp

Gold was discovered on the American River in January, 1848. By the end of that year, this original gold district had swollen to encompass...

For centuries, the Upper Napa Valley was home to several villages of indigenous people, hunter-gatherers who recognized the beneficial...

Dropped into a pre-drilled hole and gently tapped into place, a 17.6-karat golden spike ceremoniously joined the Central Pacific Railroad...

For the frenzied gold rushers who traveled to the California gold mines by sea, the voyage itself was truly a great adventure … just not...

Stagecoach travel in California’s 1850s Gold Rush era— and beyond—was no sedate buggy ride in the park. Passengers frequently complained...

Haste was the imperative to bedazzled gold-rushers, men near-frantic to get to the gold fields and stake their claim on a promising slice...

Years after the railroad came to Ione, the stagecoach was still a primary transportation mode in Amador County, and horses used for...

It’s a hotel, restaurant and special events facility permanently moored at the Old Sacramento Riverfront now, but ninety-odd years ago...

At 447 miles in length the Sacramento River is the longest river that flows through California, with a watershed that encompasses more...

In May 1905, the public was thrilled when newspapers announced that a new enterprise was to build a railroad on a scenic route between...

Perhaps it’s only myth or legend (for sure, certain story elements are questionable), but nonetheless it’s a romantic tale, published as...

Gregarious, quick of mind and firm of hand on the reins, stage driver Hank Monk was a legend in his own lifetime—revered across the West...

In the Age of Sail, not everyone who entered California’s harbors came to settle. In the early 1820s, the ships of many nations began...

The stage arrived in Oroville right on time that morning in October 1893; yet at the first sight of it, the townsfolk were astounded....

The press treated the accident as a sensation—and why not? All the elements were there: women of ill-repute, stampeding horses, and a...

The old mining town in Nevada County is gone now, but Red Dog had its heyday in the 1860s, when the place had nearly two thousand...

Thanks to abundant product and clever ad campaigns from the 1890s forward, Death Valley, California, is arguably the world’s most famous...

Oftentimes, stagecoach accidents resulted in lawsuits for injuries received. This one, Sprague vs. Dillon, went to trial in San...

The California Gold Rush revitalized the stagecoach industry, which was waning in New England by the end of the 1840s, due to the rise of...

During the California Gold Rush, a number of steam-powered ships chugged up and down between San Francisco Bay and the major northern...