Pioneer Pieces: Lola Montez was One Tough Lady

As the High Sierra's fertile valleys were settled, the farms sprang up and towns took their place in the West.  Such towns included Grass Valley, Nevada City, and Virginia City.

Grass Valley's key to fame was Lola Montez, an aristocrat from Europe who reportedly  was related to Czar Nicholas 1 and Alexander Dumas.  Lola lived in Grass Valley from 1850-1860's with an income of $100,000 in 1851. 

The story goes that she horse-whipped a newspaper editor that she said had attacked her in print over a private matter.  The details of the editor's story are lost, but Lola soon left Grass Valley involved in a public scandal, never to return again.  Lola Montez, the legend, however, lives on!

Next time -the biggest mining town of them all...