Collection: Books and Periodicals > Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins

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Title: Volume 064-1 - January 2010 Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Collection Name: Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins # of Pages: 6 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2014-03-26 07:37:22 OCR Software Version #: tesseract 5.4.1 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 04:06:03 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 04:06:03

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

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NCHS Bulletin January 2010 Many countries and time periods are represented in the collection. Firearms from France, Belgium, Germany, and Asia as well as the United States are included. They cover the time period from the pre-Revolutionary War through the settling of the frontier and on to the early 20th century. The display also includes most type of firearm design including the very early matchlock. This gun brings a slow burning match (like a string or rope) to the powder to ignite. Also included are later flintlocks as well as the more modern percussion arms. Pistols are a major part of the collection and different types are on display. These pistols include early revolvers as well as muzzle-loaded arms. Some items were for personal defense nature, for example, the Chicago Palm pistol or the Elliot Zig-zag pistol. It was not unusual for women to carry such type of small pistol for defense. Of note in the collection are firearms that were used for hunting, such as the famous Winchester lever action rifles and Remington Rolling Block rifles. The Winchester rifles have the allure of “Winning the West” but in reality many —_ + Remington 1841 “Mississippi Rifle,” a type used extensively type of firearms were much involved in this process. in the Civil War. Many of the firearms in the collection were used for + Jenks Single Shot Rifle, manufactured for the U.S. Navy protection of passengers and cargo (often money or gold) circa 1845. on stagecoaches during the gold rush era. Often these guns * Sharps Single Shot Rifle, used for hunting and during the were either rifles or shotguns, some of which were the Civil War. “sawed-off” type. * Sharps-Borchardt Model 1878, used by the military or for hunting large game. -~ There is even a very unique “underhammer” long gun used for hunting purposes. This design was not very sucSivan Ariéricsiy Wan cessful. Part of the collection also includes French dueling a hiaaGiatis, agat io eden ennedulies Well pistols. In the collection are notable firearms used in miliWarl , y y 5 tary operations. These include early weapons such as: , * Krag-Jorgenson Model 1898 Army Rifle, used during th: Each of these firearms has a unique story attached to it. One can easily make the leap to understand why the shotguns were necessary for protection on the stagecoaches that took the passengers and gold from place to place. Seeing the small pistols used for self-protection gives a great appreciation and understanding of the potential perils one might face during this colorful period—unfortunately, the colors included gold, and often red, for the blood that was shed for the gold. In the context of the times, with bandits such as Black Bart, Joaquin Murietta, Tom Bell, Jim Webster, “Dare Devil Dick” aka Robert Williams, Rondo Jim and Pete Dalton roaming the hills, and lawmen like Steve Venard who tracked and brought to frontier justice three robbers with four bullets, it was important te™, understand the “why” of the firearm.