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11 unusual facts about Bret Harte


1877 U.S. Patent Office fire

American author Bret Harte reports in The writings of Bret Harte that it was not known when or where the fire started.

CGR 0-4-0ST 1874

In an Uitenhage centenary publication the first three construction locomotives on the Midland System are described as two engines named "Pioneer" and "Little Bess" that each weighed 14 tons, and a third engine named "Mliss" after "one of Bret Harte's charming heroines", that was imported about the same time and that weighed only eight tons.

Cherubina de Gabriak

The name, Cherubina, was taken from the story A Secret Of Telegraph Hill by Bret Harte.

Edgar Wilson Nye

He began early to contribute humorous sketches to the newspapers, using the pen name of "Bill Nye" after a character in a famous poem by Bret Harte popularly known as "The Heathen Chinee".

Gorilla suit

In 1869, Noah Brooks' short story, "Mr. Columbus Coriander's Gorilla" appeared in Bret Harte's "Overland Monthly Magazine."

Holbrooke Hotel

Several notable people stayed at the hotel including “Gentleman Jim” Corbett, Lotta Crabtree, Bob Fitzsimmons, Bret Harte, Jack London, Lola Montez, Emma Nevada, Mark Twain, and five US Presidents: Grover Cleveland, James Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, and Herbert Hoover.

Hop Sing

A servile character named Hop Sing first appeared as a laundryman in 1876, in Bret Harte's play Two Men of Sandy Bar.

New York Atlas

Bret Harte, who later became well for his accounts of pioneering life in California, had his first writings published in the Atlas at age 11, a poem called "Autumnal Musings".

South Modesto

The region consists of the census-designated places of Bret Harte, Shackelford, and Bystrom; as well as the county "islands" amidst them.

The Land of Little Rain

In the beginning of the section, Jimville is touted as a better source of inspiration for Bret Harte than he found during his own travels.

Wiyot people

The 1860 massacre was well documented historically and was reported in San Francisco and New York by the young American writer Bret Harte.


Montgomery Block

Its tenants included artists and writers of all kind and it also hosted many illustrious visitors, among them Jack London, George Sterling, Lola Montez, Lotta Crabtree, Gelett Burgess, Maynard Dixon, Frank Norris, Ambrose Bierce, Bret Harte, the Booths and Mark Twain.

Twain Harte, California

Its name is derived from the last names of two famous authors who lived in California, Mark Twain and Bret Harte.