Pioneer Pieces: That's Quite a Guest List!

Virginia City was "the place to be" in the later decades of the 1800s.  The names of national significance were many from the Pullman's who arrived by train of course, to Civil War General Sherman,  They came in private palace train cars and stately carriages and became so common place that no one seemed to notice them anymore.

President Grant, Baron Rothschild, and Artemas Ward arrived, dined and attended Piper's Opera House without anyone bothering to note it in the newspapers.  After all the help Nevada provided the Union during the Civil War, they were old friends :)

Senators William W Stewart and John Perceival Jones were the first "silver senators" whose flamboyant natures stirred up the social scene in Washington.

The first two women to live on the Comstock were Julia Bulette, a courtesan,  whose later murder was quite the topic throughout the West, and Elley Orrum, a washwoman AND Nevada's first millionaire.

Marcus Daly, the copper king of Montana and George Hearst, of the newspaper dynasty, made their first strike on the Comstock.

Adolph Sutro, cigar maker, and the most popular of San Francisco's later mayors, first found his fortunes when, against all odds and popular opinion, he built his mine tunnel into the lower mines.

Senator William Sharon whose wealthy ways even shocked San Franciscans who were used to such displays, had his beginnings in Virginia City where he was the manager of Darius Ogden Mill's Bank of California.

Along with many great performers, these "old time celebrities" made up a good percentage of the culture in Virginia City.

Next time we look at frontier newspapers...