People

Louise B. Grantham was born in Hillsboro, Ohio in 1900 and spent the first two decades of her life living at home in Ohio before she moved out to California to pursue independence through prospecting in Southern California.

Fannie Quigley is one of Denali's most celebrated historic figures, having arrived in the early 1900's gold rush to Kantishna, and making it her home until her death in 1944. Her childhood in Nebraska helped prepared her for life on the Alaskan frontier.

Pete Aguereberry was born in 1874 into a Basque family in France. At an early age he read about the wonderful gold discoveries in California and begged his father to let him come to the United States.

Born in Calumet, Michigan to Slovenian immigrant parents in 1888, Anna Klobuchar Clemenc Shavs was instrumental in the fight for worker's rights during the 1913-14 Copper Miners' Strike in Michigan's Copper Country. She founded and served as president of the Women's Auxiliary No. 15 of the Western Federation of Miners, serving jail time and suffering with ostracization due to her efforts.

Born Margareeta Johanna Konttra Niiranen in Tornio, Finland, in 1861, Maggie Walz came to the United States at the age of twenty. After arriving in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, she took a job as a domestic servant for the Jacob Ojanpera family in Oskar, near Houghton. Walz had other aspirations, however.

Christian Brevoort Zabriskie (1864–1936) was born at Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory while his father, E.B. Zabriskie, was stationed there.

Shorty Harris was one of the greatest, and most colorful, of the old-time prospectors. Shorty was responsible for some of the region's most famous gold strikes and most famous gold rushes.

The townsite of Schwab sits on the eastern side of Death Valley, seemingly wiped from the earth. Upon closer inspection today, the site shows signs of various tents, businesses, and structures meant to service local mines.

California was a place of both hope and danger for enslaved African Americans. The state’s antislavery laws and plentiful business opportunities provided chances for a fresh start. These business opportunities, however, also attracted dishonest men looking to earn a quick buck. As we shall see, Alvin Coffey experienced both extremes during his three journeys across the California Trail.

Bruff’s fondness for adventure arrived early in life. When news of gold in California spurred Bruff to action. He assembled an overland emigration party, the Washington City and California Mining Association. Problems within the company started before they crossed the Missouri River...