The 1849 California Gold Rush brought swarms of wealth-seekers to the American West. But for quite awhile they were almost entirely male. Not many ladies were interested in a meaningful experience with a gold pan in the middle of nowhere. But a few hearty women made the trek, and some found better ways to strike gold than stand by a stream and break their backs. These "ladies of the evening" are remembered today in Nevada City, California, a beautiful Victorian community right along California Route 49, which was named for the "Forty Niners." If you want to see the monument for yourself, look in the parking lot of the National Hotel, which just so happens to be the longest continually operating hotel west of the Mississippi.
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