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| Landmark #684 | Napa County | Visited: July 13, 2014 | Plaque? NO. 🙁 |
| What is it? | A wooden placard marking the site of Sam Brannan’s store! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: Sam Brannan arrived in Napa Valley in the late 1850s and purchased a square mile of land at the foot of Mount St. Helena. This is the store he built, in which he made $50,000 in one year.
OTHER TIDBITS: As California’s first millionaire, Sam Brannan embodied capitalism! After coming to California in 1846, escaping persecution for being a Mormon, he set up a store at Sutter’s Fort, the site that launched the Gold Rush! When the gold was discovered, Sam Brannan bought up all the mining tools he could find, then ran through the streets of San Francisco shouting “Gold! Gold on the American River” and selling his tools to prospectors at a 7500% markup! Sam Brannan set up stores across California and became so wealthy that the president of the LDS church, Brigham Young, wanted him to pay some serious tithing, but Sam decided he’d only pay an invoice signed by God himself! Unfortunately for Mr. Brannan, after owning a fifth of both San Francisco and Sacramento, his fondness for whiskey and an ugly divorce led to his ultimate bankruptcy and demise! Let that be a lesson to us all! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: NW corner of Wapoo Ave and Grant St 203 Wapoo Ave Calistoga, CA 94515 ANNOTATIONS: From Los Angeles: ~428mi (689km) — 7.2hrs |
| When should I go? | Whenever the mood strikes you! |