PROFILES
Charles Bowles ca. 1880. Library of Congress
Charles Earl Bowles
Admittedly, Bowles (alias “Black Bart”) was never a citizen of Timbuctoo or neighboring Smartsville; However, he did pull off his second known robbery, just a few miles north of the area, when he held up the North San Juan to Marysville stage.
William “Wild Bill” Gruber
Born in Illinois in 1900, Gruber lived in Los Angeles before moving to Northern California. For many years in the mid 1960s he was the semiofficial caretaker of the Wells Fargo building at Timbuctoo. At the first sign of suspicious activity around the building, Gruber and his dog Meany would appear on the scene, Gruber yelling and shaking a stick at the miscreants.
Bill Gruber in 1976. SAMCC
Evelyn Brooks in 1879. Bancroft Library
Eveline Brooks
Her parents having crossed the country from New York to California, Eveline Brooks was born in Timbuctoo on 16 November 1859. Her family’s three-room shack was so crudely built that at times the wind coming through the walls blew out candles. Evelyn was still an infant when, in May 1860, her family left Timbuctoo. (See upcoming entry for Fanny Brooks)
Samuel Clemens
Better known as Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens never resided in Timbuctoo, but it’s likely he’d been through the town. He stayed in the Holbrooke Hotel in nearby Grass Valley, and there is a tantalizing hint that he may have visited Timbuctoo at least once at some point. He wrote a story titled “The Crown Prince of Timbuctoo,” but that had nothing to do with our gold rush town.
Mark Twain ca. 1870. Elmira College - Gannet-Tripp Library.
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