Donner Lake
Sparks and cinders flew from the back of those early Truckee trains that made their way up to Donner Summit. Fire shooting out of smoke stacks, whistles blaring, shattering the stillness of Cold Stream Canyon. Wood was the fuel of choice in those days. What wasn’t used by the railroad found its’ way to Virginia City to shore up the miles of tunnels honeycombing the ground beneath the town, much to the detriment of our early forests. Only now, 150 years later, has the forest recovered to something of its original self.
Truckee has always been a railroad town, except the old wood burners have been replaced by 4 enormous diesel engines with a mile long string of cars, now, carrying goods from all over America, up Donner Pass to the 8th largest economy in the world, CALIFORNIA.
When you visit Truckee and look carefully, shadows of the past can still be seen, faded, but still prominent. “Rooms for $1.50 a night with steam heat” adorn the weathered brick of a downtown building. Charlie Chaplin stands near the sign of the Empire Theatre which saw its last performance a hundred years ago.
Fire was the bane of this new frontier town. Truckee burned several times. After several losses, the buildings were constructed with state of the art, fire protection equipment consisting of several tons of sand assembled in the attics of new buildings so that when the inevitable fires broke out they would be extinguished just as soon as the ceilings burned through. Fires are still a concern in a more modern Truckee. Our firemen must consider the threat of tons of sand falling from a ceiling that might burn through.
The Chinese Herb Shop was reconstructed in its old location near the Truckee River not far from where the Chinese railroad workers community lived. The Truckee jail resides on Jibboom Street which was known to house late night revelers in the famous red light district. Jibboom Street is just a shadow if its old, boisterous, self but, if you take the time to look, behind a grove of aspens, next to the post Office, there is a small memorial to the ladies of the night . Fitting somehow, not to be easily found. Gone are the ladies and their places of business. Drinking establishments have moved to the main street. But Jibboom Street is still a great place to snoop for the many hints of Truckee’s 150 year history.
Truckee is a town of great historic interest to the many tourists that visit the town each year. With its myriad of excellent restaurants, to its spectacular skiing, Truckee is still a magnet for kayakers, mountain climbers, fishermen and women, bikers, boaters and other fun seekers.
