Administrator’s Notes
Ralph Gibson, Museums Administrator
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| The Heritage Trail 2022 Calendar |
The Grand Army of the Republic Collection
Kasia Woroniecka, Curator of Collections
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| Medals from the Michael David Lininger Collection, PCM. |
G. A. R. organized national reunions, known as encampments, which took place in different cities around the country. The encampments lasted for several days and consisted of various activities, including parades, dinners, committee meeting, dedication ceremonies, and memorial services. Members who attended wore G.A.R. hats or souvenir badges as well as ribbons representing their home posts.
We are fortunate to have G.A.R. badges, medals, and ribbons in our collection. They belonged to Michael David Lininger. Lininger fought in the Civil War with the Union Army 28th Iowa Volunteers and took part in the battles of Vicksburg, Red River, Shenandoah, Berryville, Winchester, Fisher’s Hill, and Cedar Creek. In 1872 he moved his family to Ophir and later, to Auburn. Known throughout town as “Uncle Dave,” he became a building contractor in charge of erecting many buildings in Auburn, among them the Episcopal Church and the Congregational Church. He also participated in the political and social life of Placer County, serving several terms in the Auburn City Council and two years as the mayor of Auburn. Lininger was a prominent Mason and a member of the Knights Templar. He was also a post commander of Colonel E. D. Baker Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. The post was organized in 1884 in Newcastle. Its namesake, Edward Dickinson Baker, served in the U.S House of Representatives from Illinois and later as a U.S. Senator from Oregon. He was killed in the battle of Ball’s Bluff while leading a Union Army regiment, becoming the only sitting U. S. senator to be killed in action. Lininger died in Auburn in 1931.
The final encampment was held in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1949. The Grand Army of the Republic was dissolved in 1956 when it’s last member, Albert Woolson, passed away.
“Upstairs Girls” in Early Placer County
April McDonald-Loomis, Placer County Historical Society
Docent Carol Cramer, best known for her terrific walking tours of Old Town on Saturday mornings, and I gave a presentation to a group in Lake of the Pines about Women in Early Auburn. During the question and answer period, one intriguing question came up. Were there many prostitutes in Auburn during the early days of the Gold Rush? Documentation of the "world's oldest profession" is notoriously difficult to find no matter what the time period. Our local newspaper collection starts in 1852 thus missing the very early years and miner's diaries and letters home conspicuously leave out any reference to "ladies of the night." The miners were probably trying to keep their reputations intact when writing to the folks back home. San Francisco was the first port of call for most Argonauts and the history of prostitution there begins very early and tales of women, of whom there were few, making vast sums of money are documented. In San Francisco for a short while it was reported that well- to-do prostitutes even "set the fashion and style of the town." For a brief moment in time, female prostitutes were at the top of society before the inevitable plunge into disgrace.
In Auburn, 49'er and later Sheriff, John Boggs, who wrote several newspaper articles for the Placer Herald relating his first years in Auburn, recalled a dance in 1849 with only two women in town, Mrs. Nancy McCormick and Mrs. Eliza Elliot. Both of these ladies were respectable hotelkeepers. Though it was not uncommon to find "prostitution" listed as an occupation in those days. The 1850 Census does not list a single prostitute in all of Placer County, whether this represents the lack of "ladies" or the lack of reporting, is unclear. In nearby Nevada City, author J. S. Holliday mentions an account where in 1850, the "best house" in town was a whorehouse. In Sacramento in 1850, the first documented report of prostitution is at The Palace where Fanny Seymour held sway.
By the time of the 1852 California state census, Placer County lists seventeen prostitutes. Interestingly, seven were born in Chile, two in Mexico, one in Argentina, one in Spain, one in Louisiana, one in Vermont, one in Cuba and one in California. Their ages ranged from sixteen to thirty seven years old.
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| Excerpt from the 1852 California Census |
Historian Leonard Davis quotes an editorial in the Placer Herald from sometime in 1852: "It is rare that real ladies would be seen on our streets – not only because they were few in numbers but because of the much greater abundance of females who would not justly be classed." In 1852, there is document in the Court of Sessions records charging John Wright and Susan, Jane, Eliza and others with "keeping a house of ill fame in Auburn. " The results of that charge are unknown. In the same year, John Wilson was charged with "keeping a bawdy house in Illinoistown," (near present day Colfax) He spent one year in state prison. In 1855, Sara Hannah was charged with running a bar room, dance hall and had nine bedrooms "for the purpose of prostitution" in Todd's Valley. She only got a $500 fine and one month in county jail. In Dutch Ravine (near present day Ophir) Madame Hunter was a locally notorious brothel owner who routinely showed up in newspaper accounts with tales of stabbings and even murder at her establishment.
The 1870 census for Auburn lists an abundance of Chinese prostitutes in town. Nineteen in all, many of them are listed in the same household with a Chinese gambler. Their ages ranged from sixteen years to seventy-two years old.
The Placer Herald in 1889 reported the arrest of Carrie Stein and Lulu Sproulle in a house of "ill fame" on Brewery Lane: they were acquitted within days.
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| Newcastle News November 6, 1889 |
The next big uptick in reported prostitution in the area comes with the laying of the double track for the railroad in conjunction with the building of the Mountain Quarry rail line between 1910 and 1912. Lillian Rechenmacher, who grew up on Brewery Lane, recalled an establishment called The Palace and recalled some of the "girls’" she knew who worked there: Leona, Black Rose, Ramona and Evelyn. To Lillian, as a young girl, the "ladies" were quite glamorous.
The 1920's were noted for excess in many forms, with prohibition leading the way. The Brewery Lane area in Auburn was a noted center of the "Red Light" district. Several fires in July and August of 1921 took out around 21 houses including 7 or 8 houses of prostitution, Lillian Rechenmacher recalled. While prostitution certainly has not disappeared over the intervening years, the heyday in Auburn, is long gone.
Sources: Kazmien – Essay "Gold Rush Prostitutes" - SFfound.org., Holliday – The World Rushed in, Sacramento's Gold Rush Saloons by L. Davis, Dry Diggings on the North Fork Knox, database of Court of Sessions actions, Placer Herald, Shroop.com, Census, Rechenmacher, Lillian Oral History.
News from the Placer County Historical Society
April McDonald-Loomis, President, Placer County Historical Society
Greetings from the Historical Society
We have several newsworthy items to report this month.
There are two new local history books of interest. Dr. Tanis Thorne has written “Nevada City Nisenan.” I haven’t gotten a copy yet but it sounds like it is chock full of great illustrations and new insights about the local Nisenan community. To purchase, go to her website - tanisthorne.com. Another new book just out is local historian Gary Noy’s “Hellacious California.” This should be a fun read as it covers the vices of 19th century California. Gambling, drinking, tobacco, overeating, fighting, eccentric entertainments, prostitution, and con artists, just to name a few! One reviewer wrote: “One of the best reads about the state I love! History penned with a sense of humor, insights, and compassion.” For this one go to www.heydaybooks.com/hellacious-California.
Be sure to mark your calendar for June 2, 2022, for the next general dinner meeting. Our speaker will be Rocklin native and retired teacher, Alfred Corral on the arrival of the Spanish in Placer County.
April McDonald-Loomis
Placer County Historical Organizations Calendar
Golden Drift Historical Society Meeting: Monday, May 2nd at 7:00pm; Monday, June 6th at 7:00pm
Historical Advisory Board Meeting: Wednesday, June 15th at 5:30pm
Historical Organizations Committee Meeting: Tuesday, May 3rd at 9:00am
Loomis Basin Historical Society Meeting: Wednesday, May 18th at 6:00pm; Wednesday, June 15th at 6:00pm
Placer County Historical Society Meeting: Thursday, May 5th at 2:00pm, Dinner Meeting: June 2nd at 6:00pm
Placer Sierra Railroad Heritage Society: Tuesday, May 24th at 7:00pm; June 28th at 7:00pm
Placer Genealogical Society Meeting: Monday, May 23rd at 7:00pm; Monday, June 27th at 7:00pm
Rocklin Historical Society Meeting: Monday, May 9th at 6:00pm; Monday, June 13th at 6:00pm
Roseville Historical Society Meeting: Tuesday, May 10th at 4:00pm; Tuesday, June 14th at 4:00pm
