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© 2026 Monkey Block San Francisco's Golden History
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Retelling forgotten stories from San Francisco's golden past, 1776 - 1906, based on newspapers, books, and personal accounts, of the time. San Francisco enthusiasts, California gold rush fans, and garden variety history geeks can discover this boom and bust city, built on the discovery of gold. *I do my best to accurately reflect the facts, and sources, in my episodes.*
41 Episodes
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Architectural historian, Jonathon Lammers interviews me in this episode. Stay until the end to hear about a change coming to the podcast. monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources) buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast) twitter.com/monkeyblocksf (follow me) facebook.com/MonkeyBlockSF (follow me)
Larkin’s decision to move to Monterey, in Mexico’s California, was to work with his very successful half-brother, Bostonian John Rogers Cooper, who made his fortune in the sea otter trade that was transitioning to the hide and tallow trade. monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources) buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast) twitter.com/monkeyblocksf (follow me) facebook.com/MonkeyBlockSF (follow me)
Larkin came to a critical juncture in life and had to make a drastic change. He has three options to choose from and he knows in which order he wants the options to work out in. Did his first choice come to fruition? His second choice? Maybe his third? Listen and find out. monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources) buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast) twitter.com/monkeyblocksf (follow me) facebook.c...
Thomas Larkin is one of my favorite people from the early California story, and I’ve mentioned him in past episodes. Thomas Larkin inevitably comes up when discussing Yerba Buena’s history, which is also San Francisco's and California’s history. I’m excited to share this deep look into Thomas Oliver Larkin’s life, which will take more than one episode to tell. monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources) buymeacoffee...
This episode is a memorial to a Civil War Veteran and locally famous (in his time), San Francisco/Bay Area resident, Henry Fortmann. This story is special to me because it honors my listener's great-great-great grandfather, Henry Fortmann, and his connection to San Francisco's disinterment of the dead. monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources) buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast) twitter.com/monkeyblocks...
This is Part 2 of my interview with author Terry Hamburg, author of "Land of the Dead, How the West Changed Death in America". In this episode Terry tells us how the four main cemeteries dealt with evicting the dead by the 1940s. I assure you, it's a fascinating story and it will give you historical reference for many parts of San Francisco as well as Colma's necropolis history. Purchase the book, here: https://www.amazon.com/Land-Dead-Changed-Death-America/dp/1633889866/ref=sr_1_...
This episode is an interview with author Terry Hamburg, who wrote a very interesting book on all things dying, death, and burial in San Francisco history. We cover the earliest history of Colma and specifically discuss one cemetery, Cypress Lawn. This subject matter might not be for everyone, but please know I approach the discussion about the history of death and burials in San Francisco with respect and genuine curiosity. I think you’ll find it fascinating. monkeyblocksf@...
The history I’ve read regarding July 9th, 1846, states that the USS Portsmouth pulled up to the shoreline at Montgomery and Clay Street, marines disembarked from the ship and onto land, then marched up Clay Street to raise the American flag in Portsmouth Square. It’s stated as if the soldiers stepped off the ship and directly onto land. But, is that accurate? monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources) buymeacoffee.com/mo...
Have you ever felt like some stories should feel more connected than they do in your brain but instead they feel like untethered facts that are somehow connected? This episode is about just that. I want to understand how my past few episodes fit together, since they feel stand alone. I revisit some of my recently covered sources which might point me in the right direction. monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources)...
By January 30, 1847, the Pueblo de Yerba Buena was officially renamed the Town of San Francisco. Mexican laws weren't very well written, if written at all, which left the US military in charge of creating order in a land (Alta California), that wasn't used to having rules. This episode is a discussion between Girlina and architectural historian, Jonathon Lammers, regarding the Laws of the Town of San Francisco 1847, as captured in what is believed to be California's first pamphl...
In the last episode I discussed the lead up to the Battle of Santa Clara. I chased this rabbit hole of a topic to figure out why Washington Allon Bartlett, Yerba Buena's first American alcalde, was missing for a period of time during his very short term in office. How are these two items connected? Listen and find out. monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources) buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast) ...
Today’s episode is about the changing landscape of Yerba Buena from July 1846 - 1847, just after the US takeover and the early broken promises to Californios. In the middle of all the changes, Yerba Buena's first American appointed Alcalde, Washington Allon Bartlett, goes missing, and it has everything to do with ... cows. Were the Spaniards really hiding in the brush? Listen and find out. monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for trans...
Today, we do not cover Edwin Bryant's best 1848-selling book but I do have a friendly conversation, with Mr. Bryant. Please sit back and enjoy the rest of my talk with Edwin Bryant. monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources) buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast) twitter.com/monkeyblocksf (follow me) facebook.com/MonkeyBlockSF (follow me)
Today’s episode is an interview with a new listener and accidental friend of Monkey Block’s Facebook Page that led to IMs on Facebook, a rabbit hole on Juana Briones, and then to an online interview. monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources) buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast) twitter.com/monkeyblocksf (follow me) facebook.com/MonkeyBlockSF (follow me)
The story of the Hudson Bay Company, in Yerba Buena, has been reduced to a few sentences that are very Hudson Bay Company-centric. “That place was miserable, and we didn’t make any money, so we left.” It always felt like the guy who says, “Yeah, well, I didn’t want that job, anyway.” Today’s episode is peripherally about the English Hudson Bay Company’s short-lived post in Yerba Buena. But, it’s mostly about the people involved at the store, whose credit to that history has been lost ...
I have found myself drawn to a specific piece of land that figuratively and literally became central to the Pueblo de Yerba Buena. Why was it left empty? And, considering it shows up on every Yerba Buena and early San Francisco map, why is it hard to find early information on it? monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources) buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast) twitter.com/monkeyblocksf (follow me) facebook....
If the Battle of Yerba Buena doesn’t sound familiar, there’s a good reason for that. The events, just before and after ‘The Battle of Yerba Buena’, tell the story. There are two events, in my opinion, that make up the ‘Battle of Yerba Buena’. If you enjoyed this episode, and my original research, you can make a one-time donation at www.buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf. monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited...
Today we are celebrating our second year in review. If you’ve been on this journey with me the two years, thank you for making it to this milestone. And, a journey is exactly what this has been. Last year, we traveled from 1837, and we got stuck in 1846. monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly) monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources) buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast) twitter.com/monkeyblocksf (follow me) facebook.com/MonkeyBlo...
Letters from California Three letters, were anonymously mailed from the Pueblo de Yerba Buena, dated between June 10th and June 29th 1846. The letters were, and probably still are, quite the mystery, not only because no one definitively knows who wrote them, but for the depth of military knowledge the writer had about the happenings in Alta California. Another point of personal interest, the letters were written from our own backyard, Yerba Buena. Hubert Howe Bancroft considers these...
In this episode, we continue with the Bear Flag Revolt, with lots of perspectives and parallel subplots. In this episode, we re-live one part of a bigger story, that starts the revolt. Out of context, this is sheer comedy. In context, the aftermath, which I won’t have time to get into, today, lacks humor, and leaves people in both the Mexican and American governments unhappy. If you enjoyed this episode, and my original research, you can make a one-time donation at www.buymeaco...
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