Virginia City) in the Development of the 1960S Psychedelic Esthetic and “San Francisco Sound"

University of Nevada, Reno Rockin’ the Comstock: Exploring the Unlikely and Underappreciated Role of a Mid-Nineteenth Century Northern Nevada Ghost Town (Virginia City) in the Development of the 1960s Psychedelic Esthetic and “San Francisco Sound" A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography by Engrid Barnett Dr. Paul F. Starrs/Dissertation Advisor May 2014 © Copyright by Engrid Barnett, 2014 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE SCHOOL We recommend that the dissertation prepared under our supervision by Engrid Barnett entitled Rockin’ the Comstock: Exploring the Unlikely and Underappreciated Role of a Mid-Nineteenth Century Northern Nevada Ghost Town (Virginia City) in the Development of the 1960s Psychedelic Esthetic and "San Francisco Sound" be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Paul Starrs, PhD, Advisor and Committee Chair Donald Hardesty, PhD, Committee Member Alicia Barber, PhD, Committee Member Jill S. Heaton, PhD, Committee Member David Ake, PhD, Graduate School Representative Marsha H Read, PhD, Dean of the Graduate School May 2014 i ABSTRACT Virginia City, Nevada, epitomized and continues to epitomize a liminal community — existing on the very limen of the civilized and uncivilized, legitimate and illegitimate, parochial frontier and cosmopolitan metropolis. Throughout a 150-year history, its theaters attracted performers of national and international acclaim who entertained a diverse civic population of Euro-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and African Americans. Many Comstock performers found success through the promo- tion of their own ‘exoticism,’ navigating the seductive ambiguity of cultural liminality. Virginia City historically represented a major crossroads of transformation and innova- tion defined by its: (1) multi-layered liminality; (2) community-building efforts (music, parades, and theater); (3) interconnectivity to San Francisco and associated amenities; (4) carefully cultivated place myths; and, (5) role as a tourist space for play and fantasy. A sophisticated nineteenth-century metropolis with a multicultural landscape and wide array of amenities, its twentieth-century shade represented the converse. The population nearly vanished along with any semblances of its former diversity. Amenities were spare: isolation, silence, and expansive vistas. Residents were drawn to the area by Comstock family lineage, the desire to languish in reclusiveness, and/or frontier myths propagated by Popular Culture and perpetuated by local proprietors. Among the latter were colorful Bohemians (e.g. Duncan Emrich, Lucius Beebe, and Charles Clegg) who stemmed the community’s slide into decay while fabricating and performing a Wild West of their own styling. In the 1950s and 60s, Bonanza and Gunsmoke brought tour- ists; the area celebrated its first tangible economy since the mines and brothels closed in ii the early twentieth century. Tourism came at a cost, though, as the Bohemians — in- creasingly alienated by crowds and kitsch — fled for their eccentric lives. Comstock business owners, nonetheless, spun fabulous legends, independent of any facts, trans- forming their city and its history. In 1965, however, real legends arrived. Fifty long- haired Bay Area Hipsters came to explore the Comstock’s multi-layered liminality, re- establish the area’s role as San Francisco’s exurb, build an alternate community through ritual and music, and perform their own frontier expectations. Hipsters coalescing around the Red Dog Saloon inadvertently developed many of the primary features of a Counterculture soon to take San Francisco by storm. The result? Virginia City’s ‘Sum- mer of Love’ in 1965. Figure 0.1 Interior view of Loren Pursel’s Red Dog Saloon looking out toward C Street during Hipsters of the High West 2012. Photograph courtesy of Dennis Loren. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is with great warmth and fondness that I wish to recognize all of those who made this dissertation possible. First and foremost, I must acknowledge the best advisor in the world. He is truly the “Limit of the Marvelous” as the Charlatans might put it, Dr. Paul F. Starrs. Perhaps my praise sounds a bit effusive, but his tireless vision, infectious enthusi- asm, and infinite reserves of energy and inspiration brought this project back from the grave on numerous occasions. Moreover, his clarity of vision made me a believer in the necessity and purpose of this dissertation, which is when serendipity started to kick in and take hold. Thanks must go out to Dr. Alicia Barber for so generously giving of her time as I struggled to develop my interview skills and gain a greater appreciation for public history. I am ever grateful to Dr. David Ake for inspiring me to be both a scholar and a musician and always pointing me in the right research directions. To Dr. Donald Hardesty my thanks for guiding me through two marvelous excavations during the University of Nevada, Reno’s 2009 Archaeological Field School in Virginia City, Nevada, and for always so generously giving of his time during consultations. Many hearty thanks to Dr. Jill S. Heaton for agreeing to step into this committee after the untimely passing of Dr. Hausladen and for being a steady support. I must acknowledge all of my amazing fellow graduate students and the faculty and staff at the University of Nevada. Without all of your support, this would not have been possible. Finally, I must thank my family for all of their love, encouragement, and assistance. As a single mother, this work would have been nearly impossible were it not for extraordinary parents. You are amazing! iv This work is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Gary J. Hausladen, who taught me what geography is, convinced me I was a geographer, and then showed me how it was done v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements............................................................................................................ iii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Chapter One: Introduction ...................................................................................................1 The Problem .............................................................................................................1 Methodology ............................................................................................................4 Literature Review...................................................................................................21 Chapter Two: Setting the Stage: A Brief (Hi)story of California’s Mother Lode and Nevada’s Comstock Lode ............................................................................................57 The “Northern Mystery” ........................................................................................57 The Numa of the Great Basin ................................................................................66 Athwart the Great Desert .......................................................................................75 Cultural Diffusion and Musicking Among the Pioneers........................................78 1846–1847: The Fearful Crossing .........................................................................85 California Dreaming: The 1849 Rush and Fabled “Argonauts” ............................96 From Forty-Niners to Comstockers .....................................................................103 Gold Fever and the Ascent up Sun Mountain ......................................................106 The Rise of the Silver Queen ...............................................................................110 Industrialization, Effects of Time and the “Past as a Foreign Country” ............... 116 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Chapter Three: Navigating Questions of Identity, Communitas, and Liminality through the “Sensuous Production of Place” in Music ............................................... 131 Ambivalent Desire & the Winnemucca Troupe .................................................... 131 The Wild West & the Native American Question ................................................ 141 African Americans on the Comstock .................................................................... 145 Liminality, Communitas, Entertainment, and Music ............................................ 157 Creating Community, Constructing Theaters ....................................................... 170 Maguire’s Opera House and the Irish Presence ...................................................178 Piper’s Opera House and the German Presence ..................................................185 Ethnicity and “Otherness” on the Comstock .......................................................191 Multicultural Celebrations on the Comstock .......................................................198 Chapter Four: Nineteenth-Century Virginia City, Nevada, Jewel of the San Francisco Mining Pyramid .......................................................................................................... 203 San Francisco Stars, Comstock Constellations ..................................................... 203 San Francisco’s Colonization of the Comstock ...................................................

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