Showing posts with label Smith Flat House. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Smith Flat House. Show all posts
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Historical Smith Flat House
By Paisley Kirkpatrick
I was excited during my first visit to the historical Smith Flat House, a unique building from the time of the 1849 gold rush. Because it was built on the Placerville wagon and stage road, it was the perfect location for a hotel and toll station. Originally known as The Three Mile House, now known as the Smith Flat House, it was built at this location in 1853. The owners positioned it over the entrance of the Blue Lead Mine to conceal the mine's entrance. Smith Flat House originally consisted of a general store, post office, bedroom, dining room, and dance floor all downstairs. Upstairs consisted of more bedrooms. There was also a barn that could stable forty horses which were used by the many teamsters and travelers that passed that way.
The bar is where I saw the Blue Lead Goldmine tunnel. It was my first observance of an entry into the earth's interior. I will never forget the smell of decay escaping the darkest black imaginable. You might expect to see the devil’s hand reaching out to pull you into the depths of hell.
My upcoming release One-Eyed Charly is about a woman stagecoach jehu who drives a route along the road where tollhouses are kept. I have done research on these houses and found them intriguing and a very useful part of the west. Mile houses were established during the gold rush. Many of them were privately owned and the owners collected tolls.
Just as the number of California emigrants passing Smith's Flat House decreased, silver was discovered near Virginia City, Nevada. Almost immediately, traffic reversed and the road became the most crowded road in the state as thousands of freight wagons carrying supplies and equipment passed by on their way over the Sierra Nevada to the mines. Because of this traffic, in 1863 a blacksmith's shop was added next to the Smith Flat House, followed in the 1890s by additional improvements to the building including a kitchen, pantry, laundry, more bedrooms and a saloon and card room.
When Sarah Lombardo turned eighteen in 1885, she married Nicola Fossati, the soul owner of the Smith Flat House at that time. She was expected to take over management of the house, which included all of the work. It had two floors. On the first was the general store, saloon, card room, post office, and living quarters for the family. Upstairs were 11 rooms for boarders and a large dance hall that was used as community center for political meetings, precinct voting, dancing, traveling shows, and auditorium for other large gatherings. At first Sarah was overwhelmed by all of her responsibilities. It didn't take her long to adjust to supervising the business.
Since Sarah was expected to manage the post office and general store, she needed to learn bookkeeping. The agent for Sperry Flour offered to teach her. He was amazed at how fast the young woman learned. When a young man named John Lagomarsino arrival from Italy, he needed help learning English and arithmetic. Sarah became his tutor. Lagomarsino was later instrumental in helping A.P. Giannini found the Bank of Italy, now known as the Bank of America.
During Sarah’s lifetime, it is doubtful that she ever left Smith’s Flat House except for an occasional visit to Placerville. Yet she managed to reach out and touch the lives of many.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Smith Flat House
A couple of weeks ago I started physical therapy on my knee. The doctor sent me to a therapist who has his office in the historical Smith Flat House which is located three miles east of Placerville, California. I was pleased to be able to visit this unique building again because I have used a part of it in my current WIP, Broken Promise. When we first moved to this former gold rush area, the upstairs in this building was used as a restaurant and the downstairs as a bar. That is where I saw the Blue Lead Goldmine tunnel, my first observance of a mine entry into the ground. The house was built over the entrance. I will never forget the smell of decay and the darkest black I have ever seen. The thought of miners entering into the earth at that point terrified me. You cannot imagine what it would be like unless you thought you might run into the devil’s hand reaching out for you. 
Mile houses were established during the gold rush. They were places along the stage coach lines where travelers could stop to rest. Many of the mile houses that were on parts of the road that were privately owned also collected tolls.
Being on the Placerville wagon and stage road, Smith's Flat was the perfect location for a hotel and toll station. The Three Mile House, now known as the Smith Flat House, was built at this location in 1853. Built over the entrance of the Blue Lead Mine, the Smith Flat House originally consisted of a general store, post office, bedroom, dining room and dance floor, all situated downstairs, with more bedrooms above. There was also a barn that could stable 40 horses for the many teamsters and travelers that passed this way.
Just as the number of California emigrants passing through Smith's Flat began to decrease, silver was discovered near Virginia City in Nevada. Immediately the traffic reversed and the road became the most crowded road in the state as thousands of freight wagons carrying supplies and equipment passed by on their way over the Sierra Nevada to the mines. Because of this traffic, in 1863 a blacksmith's shop was added next to the Smith Flat House, followed in the 1890s by additional improvements to the building including a kitchen, pantry, laundry, more bedrooms and a saloon and card room.
When Sarah Lombardo turned eighteen in 1885, she married Nicola Fossati, the soul owner of the Smith Flat House at that time. She was expected to take over management of the house, including doing all of the work. It had two floors. Located on the first floor was the general store, saloon, card room, post office, and living quarters for the family. Upstairs there were 11 rooms for boarders and a large dance hall that was used as community center for political meetings, precinct voting, dancing, traveling shows, and auditorium for other large gatherings. At first Sarah was overwhelmed; however, she soon adjusted to supervising the business.
Also, since Sarah was expected to manage the post office and general store, she needed to learn bookkeeping. The agent for Sperry Flour Company offered to teach her and was amazed at how fast the young woman learned. When a young arrival from Italy, John Lagomarsino, needed help learning English and arithmetic, Sarah became his tutor. Lagomarsino was later instrumental in helping A.P. Giannini found the Bank of Italy, now known as the Bank of America.
During Sarah’s lifetime, it is doubtful that she ever left Smith’s Flat House, except for an occasional visit to Placerville. Yet she managed to reach out and touch the lives of many.
Mile houses were established during the gold rush. They were places along the stage coach lines where travelers could stop to rest. Many of the mile houses that were on parts of the road that were privately owned also collected tolls.
Being on the Placerville wagon and stage road, Smith's Flat was the perfect location for a hotel and toll station. The Three Mile House, now known as the Smith Flat House, was built at this location in 1853. Built over the entrance of the Blue Lead Mine, the Smith Flat House originally consisted of a general store, post office, bedroom, dining room and dance floor, all situated downstairs, with more bedrooms above. There was also a barn that could stable 40 horses for the many teamsters and travelers that passed this way.
Just as the number of California emigrants passing through Smith's Flat began to decrease, silver was discovered near Virginia City in Nevada. Immediately the traffic reversed and the road became the most crowded road in the state as thousands of freight wagons carrying supplies and equipment passed by on their way over the Sierra Nevada to the mines. Because of this traffic, in 1863 a blacksmith's shop was added next to the Smith Flat House, followed in the 1890s by additional improvements to the building including a kitchen, pantry, laundry, more bedrooms and a saloon and card room.
When Sarah Lombardo turned eighteen in 1885, she married Nicola Fossati, the soul owner of the Smith Flat House at that time. She was expected to take over management of the house, including doing all of the work. It had two floors. Located on the first floor was the general store, saloon, card room, post office, and living quarters for the family. Upstairs there were 11 rooms for boarders and a large dance hall that was used as community center for political meetings, precinct voting, dancing, traveling shows, and auditorium for other large gatherings. At first Sarah was overwhelmed; however, she soon adjusted to supervising the business.
Also, since Sarah was expected to manage the post office and general store, she needed to learn bookkeeping. The agent for Sperry Flour Company offered to teach her and was amazed at how fast the young woman learned. When a young arrival from Italy, John Lagomarsino, needed help learning English and arithmetic, Sarah became his tutor. Lagomarsino was later instrumental in helping A.P. Giannini found the Bank of Italy, now known as the Bank of America.
During Sarah’s lifetime, it is doubtful that she ever left Smith’s Flat House, except for an occasional visit to Placerville. Yet she managed to reach out and touch the lives of many.
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