Pioneer Tourism, 1896 to 1926

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