On the bottom: The Tombstone of Ethan Allen Grosh, the man who first found gold on Sun Mountain that later became the famous Comstock lode. Two are damaged, but all show either names, dates or both. On the top: Only a very few intact headstones remain in the Last Chance cemetery, but all are clearly marked. Unfortunately in the past few years, a vandal cut down the few 150+ year old still producing apple trees that were standing on the edge of the meadow. It’s not far behind main street (about 100 yards or so) and has a gurgling spring with substantial run-off. Picture on the bottom: This meadow/glade is mentioned in 1860’s diary entries as being just outside of town and having a small apple orchard for the town use. It contained broken pieces of square nails, used prior to 1895. A spring lay on the edge of the meadow and our archaeologist guide guessed that the corral could be a holding pen for the blacksmith shop. The picture on the top: We found four old corner posts of what appeared to be a corral, just a stones throw from a pretty meadow. A candy store and barber shop flanked the main hotel in the small buildings on each side. It’s doubtful any ladies ever chose to stay there, but miners, mule team drivers, and other men were able to obtain lodging at the hotel. The top floor of the hotel was a large bunk type room and could only be accessed by the ladder outside. By the time my story takes place there was a very long, round-about route into town that a wagon could use, but pack trains were still prefered.
When the picture was taken there was no good wagon route into town and goods were only brought in by pack train. The photo on the bottom is a close up of the Last Chance Hotel with a pack train standing patiently in front. It had two stories and the second story was used for community functions. The building in the far distance on the right (you can barely see a flag pole) may be the school/community building. I’m not sure what the other two businesses are, but one is probably the general or dry goods store. The Last Chance Hotel is the third building down the street, on the left side. The next photo on the top is the same area in 1862, just fifteen years prior to when my story takes place. The evidence of a few foundations, the old cemetery, the spring that the town drew water from, and a few old posts are about all that remain.
It’s grown up with trees now and very little is left of the old town site. The second is a wider shot of the same area. This first picture is of my husband Allen and I on what used to be the main (and only) street in Last Chance. Rachel figured out how to do so, and it looks like I’ll be the first to try. I’ve had several people ask if I’m going to post pictures from our trip.
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