Truckee's Notable Townspeople and Memorable Characters
CHARLES FAYETTE McGLASHAN:
He was an educator, lawyer, teacher, newspaper editor, legislator and entomologist who figured largely in Truckee's development. He first came to town in 1872 and was active in Truckee real estate and owned the town newspaper, the Truckee Republican, during the late 1870s. He became one of the forerunners in promoting Truckee as a tourist resort area. He was best known for his research and story of the ill-fated Donner Party. |
Charles Fayette McGlashan
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"POKER PETE" ALVERTSON:
Peter Alvertson came to Truckee from Iowa in 1870 and resided for 63 years. He earned the title of "Poker Pete" because of his skill at cards, being the best poker player in the area for many years. He operated several gambling establishments in old Truckee. He was an intimate friend and companion of Bill Cody, better known as "Buffalo Bill" and rode the Wyoming and neighboring ranges for years, side by side, with him. He fought with Custer in his historic Indian battles and delighted many with his stories of narrow escapes from death. He died in 1933 and was buried beside his friend and fellow trail blazer, Bob Watson..
DR. JOSEPH BERNARD:
Born in Portland, Oregon, in 1879, Dr. Bernard was one of Truckee's most prominent physicians. He battled blizzards and deep snows in sub zero weather to reach his suffering patients and often knew that his only payment would be the satisfaction of doing his duty. For many years, he was the town's only doctor. He was often called out to treat people injured in train wrecks, industrial accidents, people ill during epidemics and delivered most of the town's children. Hundreds of people owed their lives to this man who placed his Hippocratic oath above his own comfort. He passed away in 1951.
WILLIAM "BUTCH" BOTTCHER:
He served as Truckee's constable longer than any other lawman. He was born in Schoenburg, Germany, in 1866, and came to Truckee in 1891, working for George Schaffer in the lumber industry. He operated a cigar store in the Dan Smith barber shop. He was elected constable in 1910 and served throughout the depression years of the late 1920s and early 1930s. During this period, gambling, bootlegging and prostitution flourished. During winter, outside law enforcement was difficult. Bottcher dealt with these difficult times in his own way and was a popular figure in town.
E.J. BRICKELL:
He was an early lumberman who was a partner with W.H. Kruger in the Truckee Lumber Company.
FRANK BURCKHAULTER:
He was a grocer who became a leading banker and insurance broker. Mr. Burckhaulter was a native of Zanesville, Ohio, and came to California in the pioneer days. He had been a prominent business man in Dutch Flat when the Central Pacific began building the railroad over the Sierras. He moved to Truckee in the late 1860s and built a large home for his family on the hill above town. He was also engaged in the lumber business and railroad business. He died in 1880.
DAVE CABONA *:
Cabona came to Truckee from his native town, Sierra City, in 1894, and founded Cabona's store on Commercial Row where he sold fishing tackle, appliances and general merchandise. It later evolved into a clothing store which is still operated by members of the Cabona family.
ELI CHURCH:
Eli Church was one of the famous old-time stage coach drivers of the early west. He drove a coach and team of horses between Truckee and Lake Tahoe for J. F. Moody, proprietor of the Truckee Hotel. For 30 years he piloted the 14 mile trip to the lake each morning and back each evening from May to October. The trip took two hours. During all these years he never had an accident. He drove the stage that carried Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and Ulysses S. Grant from Truckee to Lake Tahoe.
S.S. COBURN:
In 1865, Coburn purchased land west of Joseph Gray's cabin and operated a stage station and public house for teamsters and travelers along the Dutch Flat Donner Lake wagon road. A large settlement grew around the stage station and it became known as Coburn's Station. When Coburn's Station burned in 1868, Coburn left the area and very little else is presently known about him except that he may have returned to Dutch Flat. .
HAMLET DAVIS:
Davis served as mayor of Nevada City in 1851 before coming to Truckee with the railroad in 1868, and opened a fruit and vegetable depot at No. 29 Front Street. The store featured a variety of groceries which were delivered to customers. His name was a household word in Truckee for many years.
N.F. "TOM" DOLLEY:
Of all Truckee's lawmen, Tom Dolley was unique and wore many hats over the years. A giant of a man, standing 6'8" tall, he commanded respect wherever he went. He served as deputy sheriff, constable, chief of the volunteer fire department, state and town fire marshall, local agent for Railway Express, town undertaker, part owner of Truckee Mercantile, and was very active in civic affairs. During the 1930s and 1940s, he apprehended and arrested many fugitives who committed crimes in other states and attempted to flee to California through Donner Pass. He served 28 years as constable and saw Truckee change from a rough and ready frontier town to a peaceful village.
P.M. DOYLE:
Paul M. Doyle was born in San Francisco and moved to Truckee in 1890 as a clerk in the J. L. Lewiston Mercantile store. In 1900 he bought the store, changing the name to P. M. Doyle's Mercantile Store. In 1907 he purchased the Post Office Store from Rutherford and Wilmouth. He also acquired the Truckee Electric Light and Power Company. He was a prominent and influential businessman in Truckee for many years. In 1912, he was involved in a gunfight with W. M. Smith, editor of the Truckee Republican in which Smith was killed. Doyle was defended by Truckee attorney, C. F. McGlashan in a highly publicized trial and acquitted of a crime for which many believed he was guilty. He later left town and settled in Dixon, California.
DAVE DYSART:
Dysart was one of the pioneers of the Sierras. He came to Truckee in 1880. He worked in the ice industry and was known as the "Ice king of the Sierras." He was one of the founders of the National Ice Company which later became the Union Ice Company. He worked as superintendent of ice harvesting at both Polaris and Iceland. He was well liked and respected by the men who worked for him.
HARRY A. EATON:
Eaton was born in 1906 in the "Old Eaton Home" on west Commercial Row. His grandfather, J.D. Hilton, was an early settler of Truckee. His father, Harry S. Eaton Sr., moved to Truckee in 1897 and Harry Jr. attended Truckee Schools, graduating in 1922. He worked as a bus driver and Mechanic for the schools and, when the district unified, he was appointed Superintendent of Transportation, a job he held for 18 years. He was active in civic affairs and played roles in some of the early films made in Truckee.
CECIL E. EDMUNDS:
He was the father of the Truckee-Donner Public Utility District. He came to Truckee from Australia in 1919 and operated a small dam and electric powerhouse on the Truckee River which provided the only source of electricity in town. In later years, he became owner, manager and editor of the Truckee Republican newspaper and was very involved in civic affairs. He was known for his kindness and generosity.
ELLE ELLEN:
Ellen was born in East Friedland, Germany, in 1823. He took to the cabinet trade, migrating to the U.S. in 1845. In 1868 he came to the new town of Coburn's station (soon to be renamed Truckee) as proprietor of a saw mill. He is said to have put in the first flume in the area and the first planing and shingle mill at Truckee. His first mill on the outskirts of Truckee was on Trout Creek. In 1871, this burned and another was erected on the same foundations. Logs were hauled as far away as from two miles. In 1877, he constructed a new mill three miles up Trout Creek Canyon, near today's Tahoe Donner subdivision. This mill was one of the largest in the area. A mill pond was constructed just above the sawmill. At one time, Ellen held patents on 3,200 acres of timberland immediately around his mill and ten full sections of forest lands. He constructed a V-flume from his new mill, down Trout Creek canyon, to the railroad in Truckee. In 1878, this mill produced 700,000 feet of lumber.
WILLIAM ENGLEHART SR.:
Born in Butte, Montana, in 1885, he came to Truckee with his parents in 1892. He operated a theater in Truckee for many years before engaging in the bottling business and in his earlier days was in the grocery business.
SOPHARY "SAM" EUER:
A Swiss native, Sam Euer arrived in California in 1850 at the height of the gold rush. He invested in dairy cows and established a dairy farm in Euer Valley in 1868, northwest of Truckee. Along with the McIvers and Joergers, the Euer family were well known Truckee dairy pioneers. They drove their cattle from Folsom to Truckee every summer on a trail that followed the same route as the Lincoln Highway. Sophary and Clary Euer had seven children. Today, the Euer Valley continues as a ranch and family business.
D.B. FRINK:
A founding publisher and editor of the Truckee Republican who was accidentally shot and killed by one of his fellow vigilantes during a "601" raid of a saloon on Jibboom Street in 1874.
H.F. GAGE:
A photographer whose shop was located near the intersection of Bridge and Church streets. His photographs, taken during Truckee's nineteenth century, greatly contributed to the preservation of the town's early history.
GEORGE GEISENDORFER:
A partner of E.J. Brickell who built and operated a lumber mill which later became the Truckee Lumber Company.
G.W. GIFFEN:
One of the earliest pioneer citizens of Truckee, George Washington Giffen was born in Illinois in 1831. A veteran of the Mexican war, he came to Truckee when it first became a town and represented Nevada County and as a Legislator for three seasons [sessions].
JOSEPH GRAY:
Truckee's first pioneer resident who built a log cabin on the corner of today's Bridge and Jibboom streets in 1863. The cabin was moved to Church Street, where it still stands today. Gray became partners with George Schaffer in Truckee's first lumber mill. At one time he owned most of the land which is now Truckee and was known at the time as one of the wealthiest men in the Sierra.
JOSEPH DEARBORN HILTON:
J.D. Hilton was born in 1828 and came to Truckee in 1867, when it was still Coburn's Station, to go to work for lumbermen Brickell and Geisendorfer which became [who founded] the Truckee Lumber Company. He worked for them for 35 years. He had been a "49er" who delivered supplies by pack train to the various mining camps. He served as deputy constable in the 1870s under Hank Greeley.
WILLIAM H. HURD:
Hurd came to Truckee after working in the mining area at Rough and Ready. He opened the Capitol Saloon and restaurant in 1868. After a fire destroyed the wood building, he replaced it with a two story brick structure in 1870 which is today known as the Capitol Building, the oldest building in Truckee. The Capitol Saloon was the site of the famous gunfight between two Truckee constables, Jacob Teeter and James Reed.
JOSEPH E. JOERGER JR:
Joseph's father was born in Alsace-Loraine near Strasbourg, France, and came to the United States in 1848. His son, Joseph Jr., purchased the Mormon Tavern, an early pony express stop in El Dorado County and later brought the family to the Truckee area in 1876, homesteading much of the land in Martis Valley where they operated a dairy farm. Each May, he drove his cattle from El Dorado Hills to Truckee to graze and provide fresh dairy products to the area.
DICK JOSEPH:
Joseph was one of Truckee's early citizens. Born in 1890 in Harupot, Armenia, he arrived in Boston in 1906 at age 16. In 1917 he passed through Truckee and was immediately drawn to it. He worked as a barber where he also sold cigars and tobacco products. He began to acquire property and later purchased land from the Union Ice Company on which he developed the Gateway area of Truckee, building the Gateway Motel and the Gateway Shopping Center. He owned and operated the Pastime Club on Commercial Row. He donated the land for Truckee's Tahoe Forest Hospital and financed much of the equipment for the hospital's extended care facility.
FRANK F. KEARNEY:
Frank Kearney was born in 1874 in Empire City, Nevada. He moved to Truckee with his widowed mother at age 5. He worked in some of the many lumber mills and later in the Truckee Roundhouse, maintaining the old coal-burning steam engines. He established a chicken and egg farm east of Truckee between the railroad and the old Reno Highway, known as the Kearney Chicken Farm.
JOHN KEISER:
A pioneer Californian, born in Pennsylvania. He served in both the Civil War and the Mexican War after which John and his brothers became "49ers." He moved with his family to Coburn's Station in 1866 and built a three-story hotel, the Keiser House, in Brickelltown. He served as Truckee's judge and publisher of the Truckee Republican newspaper. When his hotel burned, he built another and built his home on High Street, overlooking Truckee. His daughter, Leonora, was the wife of C.F. McGlashan.
JOE KING:
The founder of Kings Beach, was born in Gorman, Texas in 1890. He came to Truckee in 1922 and became a partner with Dick Joseph. The two invested in land at Agate Bay which was later named Kings Beach for its founder.
WILLIAM HENRY KRUGER:
Kruger was a lumberman who bought out Geisendorfer's share of the Truckee Lumber Company in 1873. By the fall of 1874, he built the residence that today is known as the "C.B. White House."
JOSEPH MARZEN:
Marzen was a pioneer citizen and butcher on Front Street who also served as deputy sheriff. The Marzen family donated the land where the Donner Monument and State Park are now located.
JOHN MAZZA:
Mr. Mazza was born in Tyrol, on the Swiss-Italian frontier, in 1851 and came to the United States in 1884, settling in Truckee in 1889. He worked in the wood contracting business and later bought the old Roma Hotel and operated it for many years. He also owned and operated the "First and Last Chance Saloon." He also worked as a watchman at Hobart Mills and was associated with William Englehart Sr. and the Truckee Soda works.
WILLIAM McDOUGALD:
McDougald was one of Truckee's wealthiest and most popular citizens. He was a native Canadian who came to Truckee in 1877 at age 22 and opened the Fountain Saloon. He later entered the undertaking business and in 1902 was elected constable. He served as delegate to the Republican county convention. As a lawman, he gained a reputation for being tough and fearless. He died of appendicitis while on vacation in Hawaii at age 51. At the time of his death his estate was estimated at $100,000.
STEWART McKAY:
McKay was a pioneer Truckee innkeeper and capitalist. Born in Nova Scotia, he came to Truckee in 1873. He owned and operated the Whitney House which later became the Truckee Hotel. He also owned a sawmill at Union Mills, and was a pioneer developer in Sparks, Nevada. He also owned 80 acres of land near the west end of Donner Lake which he developed as the area's first summer camp for visitors. He owned many mining and mineral interests near Truckee. He had a reputation as being an avid sportsman and eccentric naturalist. In his later years he disposed of all his business property and sought out a home in the woods where he reportedly adopted a "semi-nude attire," living on a diet of baked potatoes, stale bread and water. He carved a granite tomb for himself overlooking Donner Lake but died in San Francisco in 1917 and was cremated; hence never buried in his famous tomb. Rather, his ashes were scattered at the Truckee Cemetery.
CHARLES McKEEN:
McKeen was the first adjutant California Highway Patrol Officer in Truckee, serving this area during the 1930s. He also served as a Captain in the army during World War ll.
JAMES McIVER:
Born in Floriston in 1894, he lived in Truckee for most his life. He worked as a teamster, a blacksmith and owned the McIver Garage. He served as a sergeant in World War I and was active in community affairs, including chairman of the Board of Directors of the Truckee Sanitary District. The McIver family owned and operated a dairy farm in Truckee. The buildings still stand in the meadow beyond the I-80 overpass at the west end of town.
JOHN M. MEVEL:
Father Mevel, a Frenchman, established Truckee's first Catholic Church in 1869. He was Pastor until 1872.
JOHN F. MOODY:
Moody was the builder and operator of the original Truckee Hotel which stood on the railroad tracks near today's Truckee Diner [Jax]. The hotel, which served as the passenger depot, was visited by several U.S. presidents, including Ulysses Grant and Rutherford Hayes.
CHARLES ADAM OCKER:
Judge Ocker was born in Germany and came to America at age 13. He settled in Truckee in 1881. He was employed by the Truckee Box Company and later worked as a wood contractor in Boca. For many years he conducted a drying business in Truckee. He later went to San Francisco where he learned the undertaking business and upon his return to Truckee, he purchased William McDougald's funeral home which he operated for many years. In 1914 he was appointed Justice of the Peace.
TIM O'HANRAHAN:
Born in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1882, O'Hanrahan came to the United States with his parents in 1891. He worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad in San Francisco and was later transferred to Truckee to manage the Southern Pacific Hotel which stood east of the present intermodel terminal. He later owned and operated the old Sierra Tavern. After it burned, he erected the present Sierra Tavern under the same name. He was also the owner of the first telephone building. He was very active in civic affairs.
J.D. POLLARD:
Pollard owned and operated the "Lake House" Hotel and stage coach stop at the west end of Donner Lake during the early 1860s, before anyone lived in Truckee. This was a rest stop along the Dutch Flat - Donner Lake Wagon Road and for many years was the only civilization between Dutch Flat, California and Virginia City, Nevada.
CARRIE PRYOR:
Also known as "Spring Chicken," Pryor was Truckee's most infamous "lady of the night." She was involved in or the cause of numerous gunfights, stabbings, brawls and civil disturbances during the 1870s. Her open defiance to both law enforcement and Truckee's vigilante group, the "601," is early testimony to the unique spirit of individualism which some say still lingers in Truckee.
JAMES REED:
Reed was a handsome and rugged sheriff and constable who helped bring law and order to town between 1878 and 1890. He was known for his proficiency with firearms and for his romantic involvements with the ladies of Jibboom Street. In 1882, he was attacked by a man with a knife. Reed picked up a rock and threw it at the man, killing him. Reed is best remembered for his violent gunfight with Jacob Teeter in 1891 in which Teeter, his fellow lawman, was killed. Reed felt remorse over the incident and died in 1905, a lonely and broken man. (James Reed has often been confused with the other James Reed of the Donner Party - they are two different men).
GEORGE RICHARDSON:
George Richardson was born in Lincoln County, Maine, in 1827. He came to California during the gold rush, arriving on the coast in 1851 and was joined by his younger brother, Warren. The two brothers worked in the mining business in Downieville and later moved to Georgetown in El Dorado County where they were engaged in the lumber business. In 1865, while on their way to Virginia City, they ventured though the Truckee basin and met Joseph Gray and George Schaffer. In 1867, they operated a mill near Colfax and later moved their operation to Martis Valley where they operated a successful operation until the area became logged out in the late 1890s. George Richardson died in 1903. Richardson never married.
WARREN RICHARDSON:
Richardson was one of the earliest pioneer citizens of Truckee and one of its wealthiest. He and his brother, George, were in the lumber and mining business for nearly 25 years. A native of Maine, he married Maggie Morrison of Michigan. They had four children, Warren Jr., George, Raymond and Ralph. When his first wife died, he married Sarah Ward. Richardson died in 1907 and is interred in Colfax, California.
JAMES ROBINSON:
Robinson was one of the earliest lawmen in Truckee. He is best known for his service as the Town's "night watchman," a job which required constant vigilance because of the constant danger from fire. For many years he worked alongside Truckee's legendary lawman, Jake Teeter.
F.M. RUTHERFORD:
During the 19th century, Mr. Rutherford was a prominent attorney and for ten years was principal of Truckee Schools. He represented Nevada County in the state legislature for one term and was owner and editor of the Truckee Republican newspaper for seven years.
LUCCA "LUKE" SASSARINI:
A native of Italy, Sassarini came to Truckee in 1896 and operated a grocery store until his retirement in 1915. He served in the Italian army during W.W. l., and died in 1955.
GEORGE SCHAFFER:
Schaffer was a lumberman who came to Truckee in 1867 and became partners with Joseph Gray to build the first saw and lumber mill. He also brought the first locomotive over the summit on sleighs using thirty yoke of oxen.
A.F. (GUS) SCHLUMPF:
Schulmpf was Truckee's vigilant constable and night officer who helped save the town's business district from one destructive fire in 1903. He also served as deputy fire commissioner and game warden. He was known for using his fists instead of a gun.
JAMES SHERRITT:
James Sherritt came to Truckee with his brother, John, from Montreal, Canada and worked in the logging camps. The brothers later went into the hotel business and owned and operated the Sherritt House Hotel in Truckee during the last part of the nineteenth century. This four story Victorian Hotel stood on the corner of Bridge Street and Commercial Row for many years before it was destroyed in a fire.
JOHN SHERRITT:
John Sherritt was one of the oldest pioneers of Truckee, arriving in California from his native Montreal, Canada, in 1865. He worked in the logging camps but branched out into the hotel business at Boca. He sold out and, with his brother, James, built the Sherritt House Hotel in Truckee, located on the corner of Bridge Street and Commercial Row. He died in 1905.
CHARLES EDWARD SMITH: (see note ** below)
Smith was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1872. He lived in Truckee for 86 years and was employed in the lumber camps. He operated a grocery store and ran the mail route between Truckee and Sierraville. He served as Justice of the Peace between 1933 and 1945.
DAN SMITH:
A native of Truckee, Dan Smith was associated with many of the town's outstanding developments. At an early age, he learned the barber business and later owned and operated the Rex Hotel. He was also in the automobile business, owning a Buick dealership. He served as head of the Truckee Motion Picture Association which was responsible for bringing many Hollywood movie productions to the area. He also promoted many other valuable civic projects, such as organizing many memorable Fourth of July celebrations.
JACOB TEETER:
Teeter was Truckee's most famous sheriff and constable who was known for enforcing the law with a pick handle instead of a gun. Teeter was killed in a violent gunfight with another constable, James Reed, in 1891 at Hurd's Saloon.
TARANTULA BILL:
Tarantula Bill was a notorious outlaw who roamed the Sierras in the 1860s and 1870s with a gang of thugs who robbed and murdered at will. He is credited with having committed the first murder in Truckee in 1869 when a man named Hamilton was found dead on the hill near the cemetery. He and his gang also attempted to rob Frank Burckhaulter's bank in 1869 but the attempt was thwarted by the town's brave citizens along with night watchman, James Robinson. Not much more is known about this outlaw.
FRANK TITUS:
Titus was a native of Genoa, Nevada. Born in 1877, Titus came to Truckee with his parents at age 12. He helped survey the route of the old narrow gauge railroad between Truckee and Tahoe City and later worked as an engineer on the line. He was instrumental in helping bring the first winter sports enterprise to Truckee. At the end of World War l, he went to work as a night police officer and deputy constable, a position he held until his retirement. After that, he worked as an agent for State Farm Mutual Insurance company in Truckee.
CHARLES BERNARD WHITE:
Charles B. White came to Truckee in 1896 as an assistant agent for the Southern Pacific Company and was made agent. He later served as agent for the Lake Tahoe Railroad. In 1923 he was made manager of the Truckee Branch of the Auburn Savings Bank, which was sold out to the Bank of America. He served as manager of this bank for many years. He served as President of the Truckee Chamber of Commerce and as a director of the Truckee Public Utility District. He purchased the W.H. Kruger mansion in 1904. The building, which is named after him, is now a restaurant and office building.
W.F. WILKIE:
Wilkie was born in Dutch Flat, California, he came to Truckee in 1884 and was associated with Sisson and Crocker, who operated a general store in town at that time. The store was later sold to the Truckee Lumber Company but Mr. Wilkie stayed with this concern until 1893 when he started in business for himself which he operated under the name of the Truckee Mercantile Company. He was a charter member of the Truckee Chamber of Commerce and was a Grammar School trustee. Wilkie's wife was Elizabeth, a granddaughter of John Keiser.
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* The original article named Charles Cabona as founding Cabona's, but it should have been Dave Cabona. Thanks to the Cabona family for bringing this correction to our attention. HCS 6/5/2018
Peter Alvertson came to Truckee from Iowa in 1870 and resided for 63 years. He earned the title of "Poker Pete" because of his skill at cards, being the best poker player in the area for many years. He operated several gambling establishments in old Truckee. He was an intimate friend and companion of Bill Cody, better known as "Buffalo Bill" and rode the Wyoming and neighboring ranges for years, side by side, with him. He fought with Custer in his historic Indian battles and delighted many with his stories of narrow escapes from death. He died in 1933 and was buried beside his friend and fellow trail blazer, Bob Watson..
DR. JOSEPH BERNARD:
Born in Portland, Oregon, in 1879, Dr. Bernard was one of Truckee's most prominent physicians. He battled blizzards and deep snows in sub zero weather to reach his suffering patients and often knew that his only payment would be the satisfaction of doing his duty. For many years, he was the town's only doctor. He was often called out to treat people injured in train wrecks, industrial accidents, people ill during epidemics and delivered most of the town's children. Hundreds of people owed their lives to this man who placed his Hippocratic oath above his own comfort. He passed away in 1951.
WILLIAM "BUTCH" BOTTCHER:
He served as Truckee's constable longer than any other lawman. He was born in Schoenburg, Germany, in 1866, and came to Truckee in 1891, working for George Schaffer in the lumber industry. He operated a cigar store in the Dan Smith barber shop. He was elected constable in 1910 and served throughout the depression years of the late 1920s and early 1930s. During this period, gambling, bootlegging and prostitution flourished. During winter, outside law enforcement was difficult. Bottcher dealt with these difficult times in his own way and was a popular figure in town.
E.J. BRICKELL:
He was an early lumberman who was a partner with W.H. Kruger in the Truckee Lumber Company.
FRANK BURCKHAULTER:
He was a grocer who became a leading banker and insurance broker. Mr. Burckhaulter was a native of Zanesville, Ohio, and came to California in the pioneer days. He had been a prominent business man in Dutch Flat when the Central Pacific began building the railroad over the Sierras. He moved to Truckee in the late 1860s and built a large home for his family on the hill above town. He was also engaged in the lumber business and railroad business. He died in 1880.
DAVE CABONA *:
Cabona came to Truckee from his native town, Sierra City, in 1894, and founded Cabona's store on Commercial Row where he sold fishing tackle, appliances and general merchandise. It later evolved into a clothing store which is still operated by members of the Cabona family.
ELI CHURCH:
Eli Church was one of the famous old-time stage coach drivers of the early west. He drove a coach and team of horses between Truckee and Lake Tahoe for J. F. Moody, proprietor of the Truckee Hotel. For 30 years he piloted the 14 mile trip to the lake each morning and back each evening from May to October. The trip took two hours. During all these years he never had an accident. He drove the stage that carried Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and Ulysses S. Grant from Truckee to Lake Tahoe.
S.S. COBURN:
In 1865, Coburn purchased land west of Joseph Gray's cabin and operated a stage station and public house for teamsters and travelers along the Dutch Flat Donner Lake wagon road. A large settlement grew around the stage station and it became known as Coburn's Station. When Coburn's Station burned in 1868, Coburn left the area and very little else is presently known about him except that he may have returned to Dutch Flat. .
HAMLET DAVIS:
Davis served as mayor of Nevada City in 1851 before coming to Truckee with the railroad in 1868, and opened a fruit and vegetable depot at No. 29 Front Street. The store featured a variety of groceries which were delivered to customers. His name was a household word in Truckee for many years.
N.F. "TOM" DOLLEY:
Of all Truckee's lawmen, Tom Dolley was unique and wore many hats over the years. A giant of a man, standing 6'8" tall, he commanded respect wherever he went. He served as deputy sheriff, constable, chief of the volunteer fire department, state and town fire marshall, local agent for Railway Express, town undertaker, part owner of Truckee Mercantile, and was very active in civic affairs. During the 1930s and 1940s, he apprehended and arrested many fugitives who committed crimes in other states and attempted to flee to California through Donner Pass. He served 28 years as constable and saw Truckee change from a rough and ready frontier town to a peaceful village.
P.M. DOYLE:
Paul M. Doyle was born in San Francisco and moved to Truckee in 1890 as a clerk in the J. L. Lewiston Mercantile store. In 1900 he bought the store, changing the name to P. M. Doyle's Mercantile Store. In 1907 he purchased the Post Office Store from Rutherford and Wilmouth. He also acquired the Truckee Electric Light and Power Company. He was a prominent and influential businessman in Truckee for many years. In 1912, he was involved in a gunfight with W. M. Smith, editor of the Truckee Republican in which Smith was killed. Doyle was defended by Truckee attorney, C. F. McGlashan in a highly publicized trial and acquitted of a crime for which many believed he was guilty. He later left town and settled in Dixon, California.
DAVE DYSART:
Dysart was one of the pioneers of the Sierras. He came to Truckee in 1880. He worked in the ice industry and was known as the "Ice king of the Sierras." He was one of the founders of the National Ice Company which later became the Union Ice Company. He worked as superintendent of ice harvesting at both Polaris and Iceland. He was well liked and respected by the men who worked for him.
HARRY A. EATON:
Eaton was born in 1906 in the "Old Eaton Home" on west Commercial Row. His grandfather, J.D. Hilton, was an early settler of Truckee. His father, Harry S. Eaton Sr., moved to Truckee in 1897 and Harry Jr. attended Truckee Schools, graduating in 1922. He worked as a bus driver and Mechanic for the schools and, when the district unified, he was appointed Superintendent of Transportation, a job he held for 18 years. He was active in civic affairs and played roles in some of the early films made in Truckee.
CECIL E. EDMUNDS:
He was the father of the Truckee-Donner Public Utility District. He came to Truckee from Australia in 1919 and operated a small dam and electric powerhouse on the Truckee River which provided the only source of electricity in town. In later years, he became owner, manager and editor of the Truckee Republican newspaper and was very involved in civic affairs. He was known for his kindness and generosity.
ELLE ELLEN:
Ellen was born in East Friedland, Germany, in 1823. He took to the cabinet trade, migrating to the U.S. in 1845. In 1868 he came to the new town of Coburn's station (soon to be renamed Truckee) as proprietor of a saw mill. He is said to have put in the first flume in the area and the first planing and shingle mill at Truckee. His first mill on the outskirts of Truckee was on Trout Creek. In 1871, this burned and another was erected on the same foundations. Logs were hauled as far away as from two miles. In 1877, he constructed a new mill three miles up Trout Creek Canyon, near today's Tahoe Donner subdivision. This mill was one of the largest in the area. A mill pond was constructed just above the sawmill. At one time, Ellen held patents on 3,200 acres of timberland immediately around his mill and ten full sections of forest lands. He constructed a V-flume from his new mill, down Trout Creek canyon, to the railroad in Truckee. In 1878, this mill produced 700,000 feet of lumber.
WILLIAM ENGLEHART SR.:
Born in Butte, Montana, in 1885, he came to Truckee with his parents in 1892. He operated a theater in Truckee for many years before engaging in the bottling business and in his earlier days was in the grocery business.
SOPHARY "SAM" EUER:
A Swiss native, Sam Euer arrived in California in 1850 at the height of the gold rush. He invested in dairy cows and established a dairy farm in Euer Valley in 1868, northwest of Truckee. Along with the McIvers and Joergers, the Euer family were well known Truckee dairy pioneers. They drove their cattle from Folsom to Truckee every summer on a trail that followed the same route as the Lincoln Highway. Sophary and Clary Euer had seven children. Today, the Euer Valley continues as a ranch and family business.
D.B. FRINK:
A founding publisher and editor of the Truckee Republican who was accidentally shot and killed by one of his fellow vigilantes during a "601" raid of a saloon on Jibboom Street in 1874.
H.F. GAGE:
A photographer whose shop was located near the intersection of Bridge and Church streets. His photographs, taken during Truckee's nineteenth century, greatly contributed to the preservation of the town's early history.
GEORGE GEISENDORFER:
A partner of E.J. Brickell who built and operated a lumber mill which later became the Truckee Lumber Company.
G.W. GIFFEN:
One of the earliest pioneer citizens of Truckee, George Washington Giffen was born in Illinois in 1831. A veteran of the Mexican war, he came to Truckee when it first became a town and represented Nevada County and as a Legislator for three seasons [sessions].
JOSEPH GRAY:
Truckee's first pioneer resident who built a log cabin on the corner of today's Bridge and Jibboom streets in 1863. The cabin was moved to Church Street, where it still stands today. Gray became partners with George Schaffer in Truckee's first lumber mill. At one time he owned most of the land which is now Truckee and was known at the time as one of the wealthiest men in the Sierra.
JOSEPH DEARBORN HILTON:
J.D. Hilton was born in 1828 and came to Truckee in 1867, when it was still Coburn's Station, to go to work for lumbermen Brickell and Geisendorfer which became [who founded] the Truckee Lumber Company. He worked for them for 35 years. He had been a "49er" who delivered supplies by pack train to the various mining camps. He served as deputy constable in the 1870s under Hank Greeley.
WILLIAM H. HURD:
Hurd came to Truckee after working in the mining area at Rough and Ready. He opened the Capitol Saloon and restaurant in 1868. After a fire destroyed the wood building, he replaced it with a two story brick structure in 1870 which is today known as the Capitol Building, the oldest building in Truckee. The Capitol Saloon was the site of the famous gunfight between two Truckee constables, Jacob Teeter and James Reed.
JOSEPH E. JOERGER JR:
Joseph's father was born in Alsace-Loraine near Strasbourg, France, and came to the United States in 1848. His son, Joseph Jr., purchased the Mormon Tavern, an early pony express stop in El Dorado County and later brought the family to the Truckee area in 1876, homesteading much of the land in Martis Valley where they operated a dairy farm. Each May, he drove his cattle from El Dorado Hills to Truckee to graze and provide fresh dairy products to the area.
DICK JOSEPH:
Joseph was one of Truckee's early citizens. Born in 1890 in Harupot, Armenia, he arrived in Boston in 1906 at age 16. In 1917 he passed through Truckee and was immediately drawn to it. He worked as a barber where he also sold cigars and tobacco products. He began to acquire property and later purchased land from the Union Ice Company on which he developed the Gateway area of Truckee, building the Gateway Motel and the Gateway Shopping Center. He owned and operated the Pastime Club on Commercial Row. He donated the land for Truckee's Tahoe Forest Hospital and financed much of the equipment for the hospital's extended care facility.
FRANK F. KEARNEY:
Frank Kearney was born in 1874 in Empire City, Nevada. He moved to Truckee with his widowed mother at age 5. He worked in some of the many lumber mills and later in the Truckee Roundhouse, maintaining the old coal-burning steam engines. He established a chicken and egg farm east of Truckee between the railroad and the old Reno Highway, known as the Kearney Chicken Farm.
JOHN KEISER:
A pioneer Californian, born in Pennsylvania. He served in both the Civil War and the Mexican War after which John and his brothers became "49ers." He moved with his family to Coburn's Station in 1866 and built a three-story hotel, the Keiser House, in Brickelltown. He served as Truckee's judge and publisher of the Truckee Republican newspaper. When his hotel burned, he built another and built his home on High Street, overlooking Truckee. His daughter, Leonora, was the wife of C.F. McGlashan.
JOE KING:
The founder of Kings Beach, was born in Gorman, Texas in 1890. He came to Truckee in 1922 and became a partner with Dick Joseph. The two invested in land at Agate Bay which was later named Kings Beach for its founder.
WILLIAM HENRY KRUGER:
Kruger was a lumberman who bought out Geisendorfer's share of the Truckee Lumber Company in 1873. By the fall of 1874, he built the residence that today is known as the "C.B. White House."
JOSEPH MARZEN:
Marzen was a pioneer citizen and butcher on Front Street who also served as deputy sheriff. The Marzen family donated the land where the Donner Monument and State Park are now located.
JOHN MAZZA:
Mr. Mazza was born in Tyrol, on the Swiss-Italian frontier, in 1851 and came to the United States in 1884, settling in Truckee in 1889. He worked in the wood contracting business and later bought the old Roma Hotel and operated it for many years. He also owned and operated the "First and Last Chance Saloon." He also worked as a watchman at Hobart Mills and was associated with William Englehart Sr. and the Truckee Soda works.
WILLIAM McDOUGALD:
McDougald was one of Truckee's wealthiest and most popular citizens. He was a native Canadian who came to Truckee in 1877 at age 22 and opened the Fountain Saloon. He later entered the undertaking business and in 1902 was elected constable. He served as delegate to the Republican county convention. As a lawman, he gained a reputation for being tough and fearless. He died of appendicitis while on vacation in Hawaii at age 51. At the time of his death his estate was estimated at $100,000.
STEWART McKAY:
McKay was a pioneer Truckee innkeeper and capitalist. Born in Nova Scotia, he came to Truckee in 1873. He owned and operated the Whitney House which later became the Truckee Hotel. He also owned a sawmill at Union Mills, and was a pioneer developer in Sparks, Nevada. He also owned 80 acres of land near the west end of Donner Lake which he developed as the area's first summer camp for visitors. He owned many mining and mineral interests near Truckee. He had a reputation as being an avid sportsman and eccentric naturalist. In his later years he disposed of all his business property and sought out a home in the woods where he reportedly adopted a "semi-nude attire," living on a diet of baked potatoes, stale bread and water. He carved a granite tomb for himself overlooking Donner Lake but died in San Francisco in 1917 and was cremated; hence never buried in his famous tomb. Rather, his ashes were scattered at the Truckee Cemetery.
CHARLES McKEEN:
McKeen was the first adjutant California Highway Patrol Officer in Truckee, serving this area during the 1930s. He also served as a Captain in the army during World War ll.
JAMES McIVER:
Born in Floriston in 1894, he lived in Truckee for most his life. He worked as a teamster, a blacksmith and owned the McIver Garage. He served as a sergeant in World War I and was active in community affairs, including chairman of the Board of Directors of the Truckee Sanitary District. The McIver family owned and operated a dairy farm in Truckee. The buildings still stand in the meadow beyond the I-80 overpass at the west end of town.
JOHN M. MEVEL:
Father Mevel, a Frenchman, established Truckee's first Catholic Church in 1869. He was Pastor until 1872.
JOHN F. MOODY:
Moody was the builder and operator of the original Truckee Hotel which stood on the railroad tracks near today's Truckee Diner [Jax]. The hotel, which served as the passenger depot, was visited by several U.S. presidents, including Ulysses Grant and Rutherford Hayes.
CHARLES ADAM OCKER:
Judge Ocker was born in Germany and came to America at age 13. He settled in Truckee in 1881. He was employed by the Truckee Box Company and later worked as a wood contractor in Boca. For many years he conducted a drying business in Truckee. He later went to San Francisco where he learned the undertaking business and upon his return to Truckee, he purchased William McDougald's funeral home which he operated for many years. In 1914 he was appointed Justice of the Peace.
TIM O'HANRAHAN:
Born in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1882, O'Hanrahan came to the United States with his parents in 1891. He worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad in San Francisco and was later transferred to Truckee to manage the Southern Pacific Hotel which stood east of the present intermodel terminal. He later owned and operated the old Sierra Tavern. After it burned, he erected the present Sierra Tavern under the same name. He was also the owner of the first telephone building. He was very active in civic affairs.
J.D. POLLARD:
Pollard owned and operated the "Lake House" Hotel and stage coach stop at the west end of Donner Lake during the early 1860s, before anyone lived in Truckee. This was a rest stop along the Dutch Flat - Donner Lake Wagon Road and for many years was the only civilization between Dutch Flat, California and Virginia City, Nevada.
CARRIE PRYOR:
Also known as "Spring Chicken," Pryor was Truckee's most infamous "lady of the night." She was involved in or the cause of numerous gunfights, stabbings, brawls and civil disturbances during the 1870s. Her open defiance to both law enforcement and Truckee's vigilante group, the "601," is early testimony to the unique spirit of individualism which some say still lingers in Truckee.
JAMES REED:
Reed was a handsome and rugged sheriff and constable who helped bring law and order to town between 1878 and 1890. He was known for his proficiency with firearms and for his romantic involvements with the ladies of Jibboom Street. In 1882, he was attacked by a man with a knife. Reed picked up a rock and threw it at the man, killing him. Reed is best remembered for his violent gunfight with Jacob Teeter in 1891 in which Teeter, his fellow lawman, was killed. Reed felt remorse over the incident and died in 1905, a lonely and broken man. (James Reed has often been confused with the other James Reed of the Donner Party - they are two different men).
GEORGE RICHARDSON:
George Richardson was born in Lincoln County, Maine, in 1827. He came to California during the gold rush, arriving on the coast in 1851 and was joined by his younger brother, Warren. The two brothers worked in the mining business in Downieville and later moved to Georgetown in El Dorado County where they were engaged in the lumber business. In 1865, while on their way to Virginia City, they ventured though the Truckee basin and met Joseph Gray and George Schaffer. In 1867, they operated a mill near Colfax and later moved their operation to Martis Valley where they operated a successful operation until the area became logged out in the late 1890s. George Richardson died in 1903. Richardson never married.
WARREN RICHARDSON:
Richardson was one of the earliest pioneer citizens of Truckee and one of its wealthiest. He and his brother, George, were in the lumber and mining business for nearly 25 years. A native of Maine, he married Maggie Morrison of Michigan. They had four children, Warren Jr., George, Raymond and Ralph. When his first wife died, he married Sarah Ward. Richardson died in 1907 and is interred in Colfax, California.
JAMES ROBINSON:
Robinson was one of the earliest lawmen in Truckee. He is best known for his service as the Town's "night watchman," a job which required constant vigilance because of the constant danger from fire. For many years he worked alongside Truckee's legendary lawman, Jake Teeter.
F.M. RUTHERFORD:
During the 19th century, Mr. Rutherford was a prominent attorney and for ten years was principal of Truckee Schools. He represented Nevada County in the state legislature for one term and was owner and editor of the Truckee Republican newspaper for seven years.
LUCCA "LUKE" SASSARINI:
A native of Italy, Sassarini came to Truckee in 1896 and operated a grocery store until his retirement in 1915. He served in the Italian army during W.W. l., and died in 1955.
GEORGE SCHAFFER:
Schaffer was a lumberman who came to Truckee in 1867 and became partners with Joseph Gray to build the first saw and lumber mill. He also brought the first locomotive over the summit on sleighs using thirty yoke of oxen.
A.F. (GUS) SCHLUMPF:
Schulmpf was Truckee's vigilant constable and night officer who helped save the town's business district from one destructive fire in 1903. He also served as deputy fire commissioner and game warden. He was known for using his fists instead of a gun.
JAMES SHERRITT:
James Sherritt came to Truckee with his brother, John, from Montreal, Canada and worked in the logging camps. The brothers later went into the hotel business and owned and operated the Sherritt House Hotel in Truckee during the last part of the nineteenth century. This four story Victorian Hotel stood on the corner of Bridge Street and Commercial Row for many years before it was destroyed in a fire.
JOHN SHERRITT:
John Sherritt was one of the oldest pioneers of Truckee, arriving in California from his native Montreal, Canada, in 1865. He worked in the logging camps but branched out into the hotel business at Boca. He sold out and, with his brother, James, built the Sherritt House Hotel in Truckee, located on the corner of Bridge Street and Commercial Row. He died in 1905.
CHARLES EDWARD SMITH: (see note ** below)
Smith was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1872. He lived in Truckee for 86 years and was employed in the lumber camps. He operated a grocery store and ran the mail route between Truckee and Sierraville. He served as Justice of the Peace between 1933 and 1945.
DAN SMITH:
A native of Truckee, Dan Smith was associated with many of the town's outstanding developments. At an early age, he learned the barber business and later owned and operated the Rex Hotel. He was also in the automobile business, owning a Buick dealership. He served as head of the Truckee Motion Picture Association which was responsible for bringing many Hollywood movie productions to the area. He also promoted many other valuable civic projects, such as organizing many memorable Fourth of July celebrations.
JACOB TEETER:
Teeter was Truckee's most famous sheriff and constable who was known for enforcing the law with a pick handle instead of a gun. Teeter was killed in a violent gunfight with another constable, James Reed, in 1891 at Hurd's Saloon.
TARANTULA BILL:
Tarantula Bill was a notorious outlaw who roamed the Sierras in the 1860s and 1870s with a gang of thugs who robbed and murdered at will. He is credited with having committed the first murder in Truckee in 1869 when a man named Hamilton was found dead on the hill near the cemetery. He and his gang also attempted to rob Frank Burckhaulter's bank in 1869 but the attempt was thwarted by the town's brave citizens along with night watchman, James Robinson. Not much more is known about this outlaw.
FRANK TITUS:
Titus was a native of Genoa, Nevada. Born in 1877, Titus came to Truckee with his parents at age 12. He helped survey the route of the old narrow gauge railroad between Truckee and Tahoe City and later worked as an engineer on the line. He was instrumental in helping bring the first winter sports enterprise to Truckee. At the end of World War l, he went to work as a night police officer and deputy constable, a position he held until his retirement. After that, he worked as an agent for State Farm Mutual Insurance company in Truckee.
CHARLES BERNARD WHITE:
Charles B. White came to Truckee in 1896 as an assistant agent for the Southern Pacific Company and was made agent. He later served as agent for the Lake Tahoe Railroad. In 1923 he was made manager of the Truckee Branch of the Auburn Savings Bank, which was sold out to the Bank of America. He served as manager of this bank for many years. He served as President of the Truckee Chamber of Commerce and as a director of the Truckee Public Utility District. He purchased the W.H. Kruger mansion in 1904. The building, which is named after him, is now a restaurant and office building.
W.F. WILKIE:
Wilkie was born in Dutch Flat, California, he came to Truckee in 1884 and was associated with Sisson and Crocker, who operated a general store in town at that time. The store was later sold to the Truckee Lumber Company but Mr. Wilkie stayed with this concern until 1893 when he started in business for himself which he operated under the name of the Truckee Mercantile Company. He was a charter member of the Truckee Chamber of Commerce and was a Grammar School trustee. Wilkie's wife was Elizabeth, a granddaughter of John Keiser.
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* The original article named Charles Cabona as founding Cabona's, but it should have been Dave Cabona. Thanks to the Cabona family for bringing this correction to our attention. HCS 6/5/2018
** TDHS has been advised by Earl S., Jr., Dec. 2023, that the the middle name of Charles Smith was not Edward, but Elihu. According to the 1924 Lardner & Brock History of Placer and Nevada Counties, Mr. Smith was also an active Truckee "Booster. Smith was mployed with the Truckee Lumber Company and also worked with the Alder Creek Wood & Lumber Company for 6 years, then as a proprietor of a grocery store in Truckee for the next 17 years. Mr. Smith also operated a stage line from Truckee to Sierraville. HCS 12/18/2023
