California Historical Landmarks in Nevada County
California Historical Landmark 292
Lola Montez Home
248 Mill Street
Grass Valley
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(Click Photo to Zoom)
Lola was born in Limerick, Ireland on July 3, 1818, as María Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert. After living in England and on the continent, Lola came to New York in 1851 and settled in Grass Valley in 1852. It was here she built the only home she ever owned and became friends with Lotta Crabtree, who lived up the street. Lola died January 17, 1861 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, New York.
Citation from California Office of Historic Preservation
Lola Montez (1847)
Painted by Joseph Karl Stieler for the Schönheitengalerie
Of Ludwig I of Bavaria
With her sensational spider dance, Lola burst upon San Francisco like a bombshell, making excellent copy for the newspapers with stories of her many marriages and her claim that she was the illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron.
Offstage she dressed in the Byronic mode, wearing black jackets and wide rolling collars. Bronze-skinned, blue-eyed, she made a striking appearance strolling along the San Francisco streets, with two greyhounds on a leash and an enormous parrot upon her shoulder. She constantly smoked small cigars, forced her way into gambling saloons forbidden to women, and played tenpins with any male daring enough to take her on.
A tigress," said one newspaper writer, "the very comet of her sex."
Lola's celebrated spider dance shocked and titillated her audiences; the spiders were ingenious contraptions made of rubber, cork, and whalebone.
She gave a spectacular benefit for an audience of San Francisco firemen, and they showered the stage with their fancy helmets and almost smothered her with enormous bouquets of flowers.
Source: The Gentle Tamers: Women of the Old West by Dee Brown, 1958.
Some Missing California Plaques
When we visited the following sites, we were unable to locate a California commemorative plaque.
At some sites, it appeared that a California plaque had never been erected. At other sites, there was a base, but the plaque itself was missing. Some sites without California plaques had other historic markers, but they did not note that the site is a California Historical Landmark.
Adams and Company Building, Sacramento
Anza Expedition Camp, Burlingame
Battle of Land's Ranch, Modoc County
Bear Valley, Mariposa County
Bend City, Inyo County
Birthplace of Freemasonry in California , San Francisco
Booth Home Site, Sacramento
Brannan Cottage, Calistoga
Brannan Store, Calistoga
Brown Home, Red Bluff
Bloody Point, Modoc County
Bonner Grade, Modoc County
Brannan House, Sacramento
California Star Newspaper Site, San Francisco
Camino of Rancho San Antonio, Oakland
Carmel Mission, Carmel
Casa de Cota, San Diego
Casa de Machado y Silvas, San Diego
Casa del Oro, Monterey
Casa Materna, Pajaro
Castro Home, El Cerrito
Chevra Kaddisha Cemetery, Sacramento
China Slough Site, Sacramento
City of Paris Department Store Site, San Francisco
Colton Hall, Monterey
Condemned Bar, Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
Corral Hollow, Tracy
Crabtree (Lotta) Home, Grass Valley
Crocker Gallery, Sacramento
Croll Building, Oakland
Donner Monument, Truckee
Eagle Theatre, Sacramento
Ebbetts Pass, Alpine County
Ebner's Hotel, Sacramento
Evans and Bailey Fight, Modoc County
First Theater in California, Monterey
Fort Janesville, Lassen County
Frémont's Camp, Modoc County
Frog Woman Rock, Mendocino County
Giant Powder Company Site, San Francisco
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco and Marin Counties
Grange Hall Site, El Dorado County
Guillem's Graveyard, Lava Beds National Monument
Gutiérrez Adobe, Monterey
House of Four Winds, Monterey
Hornitos, Mariposa County
Hudson Cabin Site, Calistoga
Indian Arrow Tree, Korbel
Jackson Gate, Amador County
Joaquín Moraga Adobe, Orinda
Junípero Serra's Cross, Ventura County
Kelsey House Site, Calistoga
Lady Adams Building, Sacramento
Larkin House, Monterey
Lassen Grave, Lassen County
Laurel Hill Cemetery Site, San Francisco
Long Wharf Site, San Francisco
Marklee's Cabin Site, Markleeville
Mission San Buenaventura, Ventura County
Montezuma, Tuolumne County
Old Emigrant Trail, Modoc National Forest
Parrott Block Site, San Francisco
Plymouth Trading Post, Plymouth
Portolá Camp at Pilarcitos Creek, Half Moon Bay
Richmond Shipyards District, Richmond
Sacramento Bee Building, Sacramento
San Joaquin City Site, Tracy
Studebaker's Shop, Placerville
Telegraph Hill, San Francisco
Western Hotel, Sacramento
Mayfield Canyon Battleground, Owens Valley
Methodist Episcopal Church, Placerville
Mills Bank Building, Sacramento
Mission San Buenaventura Reservoir, Ventura County
Montez (Lola) Home, Grass Valley
Montgomery Hill, San Jose
Napa Valley Railroad Depot, Calistoga
Negro Hill, Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
Noble Pass Route, Lassen Volcanic National Park
Old Custom House, Monterey
Old Pacific House, Monterey
Old Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara
Olema Lime Kilns, Marin County
Orleans Hotel Site, Sacramento
Overton Building, Sacramento
Peralta Hacienda, Oakland
Plumas House, Quincy
Pony Express Remount Station, Woodfords
Portolá Camp at Crystal Springs, San mateo County
Portolá Camp at Gazos Creek, Bean Hollow State Beach
Portolá Camp at Martini Creek, Montara
Portolá Camp at Pulgas Water Temple, San Mateo County
Portolá Camp at Purisima Creek, Half Moon Bay
Portolá Camp at San Gregorio State Beach, San Gregorio
Portolá Camp at Tunitas Beach, San Mateo County
Robert Louis Stevenson House, Monterey
Roop's Fort, Susanville
Royal Presidio Chapel, Monterey
Sacramento Union Site, Sacramento
Sailing Launch Comet, Lathrop
Saint James Episcopal Church, Sonora
Salmon Falls, Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
Santa Margarita Asistencia, Santa Margarita
Smartsville, Yuba County
Sobranes Adobe, Monterey
Stage Coach and Railroad, Sacramento
State Indian Museum, Sacramento
Sutter Creek, Amador County
Swift's Stone Corral, Colusa County
Sycamore Tree, Ventura County
Transcontinental Railroad, Lathrop
Union Oil Company Building, Ventura County
Vásquez House, Monterey
Willms Ranch, Knights Ferry
Whiskeytown, Shasta County
Woodbridge, San Joaquin County
Wood's Ferry and Bridge Site, Woodbridge