Italian Merchants

The history of the Mother Lode is also the history of the many Italian merchants that have operated businesses from the Gold Rush to the present. Some of the earliest merchants in the Gold Country were Italian Immigrants. Among the early Italian pioneers who established general stores were Luigi Costa in 1852 in Calaveritas; Louis Trabucco in 1850 in Hornitos; Joseph Arata in 1854 in Vallecito, Domenico Ghiradelli in 1855 in Hornitos, Agostino Chichizola in 1850 in Jackson; Frank Cuneo in 1857 in San Antonio Camp, Giuseppe Prince in 1857 in Altaville,  Nicolas Pendola in 1859 in Angels Camp, John Peirano in 1854 in Angels Camp, Carlo Marre in 1858 in Jackson, Francesco Bruschi in 1854 in Coulterville, Andrew Olcese in 1861 in Mariposa, Enrico Bruno in 1857 in Butte City, Nicolas Quirolo in 1861 in Todds Valley, Bartolomeo Dughi in 1860 in Mountain Ranch and Gerolomo Tiscornia in 1868 in San Andreas. The Costa Store in Calaveritas has  been restored by the Cuneo family as has the Chichizola Store at Jackson Gate. The Butte Store, operated by the Ginocchio family until 1926, is a State Historic Landmark.

One of the best examples of Italian architecture in the region is the Giuseppe Murer House in Folsom which was built by an enterprising immigrant who arrived in 1906 from the Veneto  region of Italy. The Murer House is now a historic site and museum. The picture to the right is the Chichizola Store at Jackson Gate, Amador County, California.