Duane Leroy Bliss
Encyclopedia
Duane Leroy Bliss 19th-century Nevada timber and mining magnate. He founded the Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company from Gold Hill, Nevada. He eventually controlled every facet of the business from the land to the timber, ships and barges to move the timber, flumes and the railroad system he built.
Originally from Massachusetts, in 1849 he was lured west at age 16 with the promise of gold. Became partner in the local bank.
Wife Elizabeth Tobey of South Wareham, Massachusetts.
at the age of 13 and found work as a cabin boy sailing to South America.
Duane Bliss founded the Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company from Gold Hill, Nevada. He eventually controlled every facet of the business from the land to the timber, ships and barges to move the timber, flumes and the railroad system he built. In 1907 he completed the renowned Glenbrook Inn which became a tourist destination for the elite families of San Francisco.
Bliss's daughter Hope says that he initiated a form of medical insurance for his employees. For fifty cents per month, an employee could insure that medical needs were paid for. A well-paid laborer received $4 per day. For one hour's pay the employees received essential medical coverage through Bliss's business.
After the end of the logging era in 1893, Bliss anticipated the tourism potential of Lake Tahoe. He moved his logging trains from Glenbrook to Tahoe City on the northwest shore of the lake and converted them to passenger service. Bliss's Lake Tahoe Transportation Co. was later connected to Southern Pacific's international rail service to Truckee, California
.
Originally from Massachusetts, in 1849 he was lured west at age 16 with the promise of gold. Became partner in the local bank.
Wife Elizabeth Tobey of South Wareham, Massachusetts.
Early life
After completing his formal schooling, Duane Bliss left his birth home in Savoy, MassachusettsSavoy, Massachusetts
Savoy is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 705 at the 2000 census.- History :...
at the age of 13 and found work as a cabin boy sailing to South America.
Later life and death
Bliss's daughter Hope says that he initiated a form of medical insurance for his employees. For fifty cents per month, an employee could insure that medical needs were paid for. A well-paid laborer received $4 per day. For one hour's pay the employees received essential medical coverage through Bliss's business.
After the end of the logging era in 1893, Bliss anticipated the tourism potential of Lake Tahoe. He moved his logging trains from Glenbrook to Tahoe City on the northwest shore of the lake and converted them to passenger service. Bliss's Lake Tahoe Transportation Co. was later connected to Southern Pacific's international rail service to Truckee, California
Truckee, California
Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. The population was 16,180 at the 2010 census, up from 13,864 at the 2000 census.-Name:...
.
Further reading
- Tahoe Heritage, The Bliss Family of Glenbrook, Nevada by Sessions S. Wheeler, William W. Bliss
External links
- Biography
- House With A History - Bliss Mansion, KNPB.org, Reno, Nevada
- House With A History - script (PDF)
- Guide to the Records of Duane L. Bliss - UNR.org
- Tahoe Country A Brief Chronological History of the Tahoma Area