This rare photograph shows a man, who is likely Leland Stanford, standing in front of his tent store. Leland and Thomas Stanford owned a couple of stores for miners, which is how they gained their wealth, selling supplies to the people doing the digging.
A closer view.
Leland's first store was in the town of Cold Springs, El Dorado County. That store wasn't making money, so he moved to Michigan Bluff, Placer County, and opened a store there. Meanwhile, Leland's brother Thomas ran a store at Michigan Flat, El Dorado County, just outside of Coloma.
An even close view is showing the sign with Chinese writing, alluding to the large population of Chinese workers in the area. Can anyone translate this for us?
The question I have for you, who may be more familiar with the topography of the areas in question, is this Michigan Bluff or Cold Springs.
The original photograph, located at the Stanford Museum, is here.
