When brothers Ethan and Hosea Grosh left Pennsylvania in 1849, they joined throngs of men from all over the world intent on finding a fortune in the California Gold Rush. Their lively descriptions of Gold Canyon provide one of the earliest accounts of life in what would soon become the fabulously wealthy Comstock Mining District.

Ronald M. James is the Nevada state historic preservation officer and the chairman of the National Historic Landmark Committee. He is the author or coauthor of ten books, including The Roar and the Silence: A History of Virginia City and the Comstock Lode (University of Nevada Press).

Robert E. Stewart is now an independent historian who was chief of public affairs for the Bureau of Land Management. He served on the staff of Governor Mike O'Callaghan for eight years. He is the author of Aurora: Nevada's Ghost City of the Dawn.