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Collection: Directories and Documents > Directories
City Directory of Grass Valley and Nevada City, 1910-1911 (650.025.CIT)(1910-1911) (76 pages)
City Directory of Grass Valley and Nevada City, 1910-1911, is the first comprehensive local directory to be published since the Grass Valley and Nevada City chapters of The Marysville Appeal Directory of Northern California for 1878. It is also the first directory to appear after buildings in the two towns were renumbered in 1905, in accordance with the 3-digit decimal block system that still defines most of their street addresses today. The front matter includes a 3-page "Mine Directory" listing mines under "Grass Valley District" and "Nevada City District". The style of the directory, which includes a few telephone numbers, anticipated the style of future phone books.
Canvassing began no later than 1 February 1910, first in Grass Valley, then in Nevada City (The Morning Union, Friday, 1 February 1910, p2). The directory was sent to the printer in early March, and distributed on 15 March, the date of its 2-page introduction by the City Directory Company of Grass Valley (The Morning Union, Tuesday, 15 March 1910, p8).
City Directory Company was set up in Grass Valley, expressly for the purpose of publishing the directory, by A. B. (Alfred Herbert "Bert") Bynon (1868-1938), a printer, journalist, editor, and newspaper publisher. Bynon had compiled numerous California town directories, and later became the Pacific Coast representative for the R.L. Polk Directory Company. (Obituary, New Mexico Examiner, 2 October 1938, Wilson Family Tree, external link).
Canvassing was carried out by enumerators working for Byron's company. The enumerators also conducted a census of business and residential parts of the towns. Grass Valley's and Nevada City's populations tallied 6,572 and 3,280 (introduction). The 13th decennial federal census, enumerated in April 1910, returned head counts of 14,955 for Nevada County, of which Grass Valley and Nevada City accounted for 4,520 (30.2 percent) and 2,689 (18.0 percent). The federal figures fell 2,052 (31.2 percent) and 591 (18 percent) short of A. B. Bynon's counts -- which The Morning Union expected "will be fully as accurate as the returns handed in by the [U.S.] government census enumerators [in the spring federal census]" (Friday, 4 March 1910, p8).
The directory sold for 3.00 dollars -- which could buy 18 cans of Underwood's soused mackerel at Jackson's Beehive Grocery. It was probably most valuable to local, Sacramento, and San Francisco wholesalers and retailers for the purpose of addressing postcard advertisements. Did Bynon not give complementary copies to the local city governments, which presumably required him to pay for a business license? The record shows that the City of Grass Valley bought a copy of "A. B. Byron, directory 1910 . . . 3.00" -- as the directory was itemized on a list of demands the city's Board of Trustees approved for payment out the general fund at its meeting on 8 April (The Morning Union, Saturday, 9 April 1910, p3).
Listings -- There are roughly 2,700 listings, 1,700 (63 percent) Grass Valley and 1,000 (37 percent) Nevada City. The following sample of listings from Grass Valley represents most listing styles.
Bennetts Edward A., clk J A & G F Bennetts, h 115 Bush
Bennetts George F, men's furnishings, 140 Mill, h 304 S School
Bennetts Joseph A, shoes, 140 Mill, h 304 S School
Bennetts & Steel (J A Bennetts, Frank Steel) clothing, 128 Mill
INGRAM THOMAS, foreman, Daily Union, pres Bd Education, h 332 E Main, Tel 50
Lobecker Charles F, tailor, 216 Neal, res same
The directory includes both business houses and individuals. Place of employment is sometimes shown after occupation. Names of proprietors are sometimes shown in parentheses after firm name. Business addresses generally come before home addresses. Titles of official offices are noted. Bold listings beginning with names in full uppercase were feed, as were display ads, while simple listings were free. Statuses like "retired" and "student" are proxies for occupation. Widows are marked "(wid)". There are few telephones and most are owned by businesses.
New telephone system -- The publication of the directory on 15 March 1910 followed the start of a new telephone system from the morning of 20 February. The new system used new telephones, wired through a new exchange building, employing two additional "hello girls" -- five in all to say "Number please" when a caller lifted the ear piece off the switch hook of the wall-mounted phone box.
Telephones were not yet widely used in 1910, but usage was accelerating. The Grass Valley switchboard controlled 395 phones as of January 1908 and 476 as of November 1912 (The Daily Morning Union, Sunday,5 January 1908, p2; The Morning Union, Saturday, 23 November 1912, p2).
All phone numbers in the 1910 directory are 1, 2, or 3 digits. A few have prefixes like Blk (Black), Main, or West. Numbers not on the main line have suffixes J or L, or R or Y. People whose numbers had J or R were to answer their phone on one bell, those with L or Y numbers on two bells. (The Morning Union, Sunday, 20 February 1910, p8)
The introduction to City Directory Company's 1910 directory states that the company intended to publish the next edition in the spring of 1912. But there would be no sequel. This is reminiscent of the 1856 Nevada, Grass Valley and Rough and Ready Directory, which Brown and Dallison billed as "Volume I", though it would be the last. Brown had an excuse -- Dallison skipped town with the proceeds. Bynon simply became too busy publishing directories in other towns. And decades would pass before there was an equivalent directory in the form of a telephone book.
Canvassing began no later than 1 February 1910, first in Grass Valley, then in Nevada City (The Morning Union, Friday, 1 February 1910, p2). The directory was sent to the printer in early March, and distributed on 15 March, the date of its 2-page introduction by the City Directory Company of Grass Valley (The Morning Union, Tuesday, 15 March 1910, p8).
City Directory Company was set up in Grass Valley, expressly for the purpose of publishing the directory, by A. B. (Alfred Herbert "Bert") Bynon (1868-1938), a printer, journalist, editor, and newspaper publisher. Bynon had compiled numerous California town directories, and later became the Pacific Coast representative for the R.L. Polk Directory Company. (Obituary, New Mexico Examiner, 2 October 1938, Wilson Family Tree, external link).
Canvassing was carried out by enumerators working for Byron's company. The enumerators also conducted a census of business and residential parts of the towns. Grass Valley's and Nevada City's populations tallied 6,572 and 3,280 (introduction). The 13th decennial federal census, enumerated in April 1910, returned head counts of 14,955 for Nevada County, of which Grass Valley and Nevada City accounted for 4,520 (30.2 percent) and 2,689 (18.0 percent). The federal figures fell 2,052 (31.2 percent) and 591 (18 percent) short of A. B. Bynon's counts -- which The Morning Union expected "will be fully as accurate as the returns handed in by the [U.S.] government census enumerators [in the spring federal census]" (Friday, 4 March 1910, p8).
The directory sold for 3.00 dollars -- which could buy 18 cans of Underwood's soused mackerel at Jackson's Beehive Grocery. It was probably most valuable to local, Sacramento, and San Francisco wholesalers and retailers for the purpose of addressing postcard advertisements. Did Bynon not give complementary copies to the local city governments, which presumably required him to pay for a business license? The record shows that the City of Grass Valley bought a copy of "A. B. Byron, directory 1910 . . . 3.00" -- as the directory was itemized on a list of demands the city's Board of Trustees approved for payment out the general fund at its meeting on 8 April (The Morning Union, Saturday, 9 April 1910, p3).
Listings -- There are roughly 2,700 listings, 1,700 (63 percent) Grass Valley and 1,000 (37 percent) Nevada City. The following sample of listings from Grass Valley represents most listing styles.
Bennetts Edward A., clk J A & G F Bennetts, h 115 Bush
Bennetts George F, men's furnishings, 140 Mill, h 304 S School
Bennetts Joseph A, shoes, 140 Mill, h 304 S School
Bennetts & Steel (J A Bennetts, Frank Steel) clothing, 128 Mill
INGRAM THOMAS, foreman, Daily Union, pres Bd Education, h 332 E Main, Tel 50
Lobecker Charles F, tailor, 216 Neal, res same
The directory includes both business houses and individuals. Place of employment is sometimes shown after occupation. Names of proprietors are sometimes shown in parentheses after firm name. Business addresses generally come before home addresses. Titles of official offices are noted. Bold listings beginning with names in full uppercase were feed, as were display ads, while simple listings were free. Statuses like "retired" and "student" are proxies for occupation. Widows are marked "(wid)". There are few telephones and most are owned by businesses.
New telephone system -- The publication of the directory on 15 March 1910 followed the start of a new telephone system from the morning of 20 February. The new system used new telephones, wired through a new exchange building, employing two additional "hello girls" -- five in all to say "Number please" when a caller lifted the ear piece off the switch hook of the wall-mounted phone box.
Telephones were not yet widely used in 1910, but usage was accelerating. The Grass Valley switchboard controlled 395 phones as of January 1908 and 476 as of November 1912 (The Daily Morning Union, Sunday,5 January 1908, p2; The Morning Union, Saturday, 23 November 1912, p2).
All phone numbers in the 1910 directory are 1, 2, or 3 digits. A few have prefixes like Blk (Black), Main, or West. Numbers not on the main line have suffixes J or L, or R or Y. People whose numbers had J or R were to answer their phone on one bell, those with L or Y numbers on two bells. (The Morning Union, Sunday, 20 February 1910, p8)
The introduction to City Directory Company's 1910 directory states that the company intended to publish the next edition in the spring of 1912. But there would be no sequel. This is reminiscent of the 1856 Nevada, Grass Valley and Rough and Ready Directory, which Brown and Dallison billed as "Volume I", though it would be the last. Brown had an excuse -- Dallison skipped town with the proceeds. Bynon simply became too busy publishing directories in other towns. And decades would pass before there was an equivalent directory in the form of a telephone book.
Catalog #: 650.025.CIT
Author: City Directory Company (A. P. Bynon)
Publisher: City Directory Company (Printed by Morning Union)
Published: 1910-1911
Subjects: Directory, Town Directory, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Building Numbers, 1910
Related Items:
Author: City Directory Company (A. P. Bynon)
Publisher: City Directory Company (Printed by Morning Union)
Published: 1910-1911
Subjects: Directory, Town Directory, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Building Numbers, 1910
Related Items:
- Directories > The Marysville Appeal Directory of Northern California for 1878 (650.025 MCK)(1878)
- Directories > Brown & Dallison's Nevada, Grass Valley and Rough and Ready Directory (650.025 BRO)(January 1856)
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