Pioneer Tourism, 1896 to 1926
Tourists Come to Lake Tahoe
Think about the people who made Tahoe City what it is today. They were frontiersman and adventurers, hunters and fishermen, lumberjacks and miners, school teachers, newspapermen, and ladies of the night. They ranged from Washoe Indians, who called Tahoe their summer home, to wealthy San Franciscans who understood the reason why.
In 1900, Duane I. Bliss, switched from mining and lumbering interests to tourism. He built a narrow gage train line that carried tourists and freight from Truckee to Tahoe City.
The train ended on a long wharf, where you could hop on the Bliss-owned steamer Tahoe. After a beautiful day-trip around the lake, you could spend the night at his elegant Tahoe Tavern Resort just ¼ mile south of Tahoe City.
Tahoe City was becoming a seasonal destination resort.
Notable People
Clarence and Katherine Atherton – Developed first grocery store • Walter S. Bickford – First lumber company and flush toilet • Charles Tobey “Bud” Bliss – Managed Tahoe Tavern Resort • Duane L. Bliss – Owner of steamer Tahoe and Tahoe Tavern Resort • George R. “Judge” Bliss – Managed LTR&T (Railroad) Co. • Bliss Hinkle – First high school teacher • Olga “Bennie”Mayhew – Opened first eatery • Ernest Henry Pomin – Chief railroad machinist • Ernest John Pomin – First captain of steamer Tahoe • Joseph H. “Cappy Joe” Pomin – Captain of steamers Tallac and Mamie • Robert Montgomery Watson – Trail blazer and first constable
Marker can be reached from North Lake Boulevard (State Highway 26), on the right when traveling east.
Courtesy hmdb.org
