Home Away from Home
Update 20
Summer 1867
If you remember, way back in update 16, Mr. T. Master attended to some business in Baltimore, MD. It turns out; he was working to help his friend, Asa Shiner, arrange for the passage of young single women to New SorGun. Convincing young women to give up the relative luxuries of east coast cities was no easy task.
But the excitement of adventure and the promise of a financially stable husband was enough to convince 10 available young ladies to make the journey westward with Mr. Shiner during his visit two years later.
Of the 10 ladies, 9 made the trip to New SorGun (One decided that San Francisco was as much ‘wild frontier’ as she was willing to take).
San Francisco circa 1860
Only one in ten adults in New SorGun were women, so you can imagine how popular Mr. Shiner was with the local populace. The success of his first endeavor encouraged the young man to try again on a larger scale. In 1865, Shiner traveled east, promising to bring back 500 young women. He was collecting $300 for each suitable wife, and received hundreds of applications from the New SorGun fellows.
Unfortunately, Shiner’s second trip was less than successful. Recruitment went well at first, but a large east coast paper got hold of the story and sabotaged his efforts with tall tales of ugly old hermits paying for young brides. Most of Mr. Shiner’s clients weren’t mathematicians, but when the young entrepreneur returned with less than 40 girls, it didn’t take a genius to realize that many men were going home with a broken heart and a lighter wallet. Needless to say, some of the less fortunate suitors were ready to run Shiner out of town on a rail.
Fortunately, Mr. Shiner wasn’t the only industrialist on the frontier. Benjamin Sprague, captain of the “Gin Palace Polly” delivered women (along with wine and music) to the many logging camps that dotted the Pacific Northwest. This traveling brothel brought smiles to the hard working loggers, but their bosses were less enthusiastic – a visit from the boat could easily set work back two or three days. The Gin Palace Polly’s days were short lived, as the captain ended up spending two years the state penitentiary for selling liquor to Indians (and on Sundays). *true story*
In the fall of 1865, a solution to the gender gap presented itself in the form of a single man with big ideas. Eastman T. Finch debarked from a San Francisco lumber schooner at Yarahi’s Pier. Tall, saturnine and suave, wearing a fashionable waistcoat and a plug hat – he was the image of a man ready to transform New SorGun.
Mr. Finch got to work immediately, purchasing a small plot of land near the mill, across the street from the famous Kitty Saloon (run by Miss Kitty herself). Eastman had no degree, but he understood economics – and with 10 men for every 1 woman, he knew there was a demand to be fulfilled. His solution was the ‘Illahee’ - a place where men could enjoy the comforts of home… for a price.
Yes, in the spring of 1866, New SorGun was home to the first brothel in the region. As you may have guessed, such a house of sin did not agree with everybody in town. But Mr. Finch was as much a public relations mastermind as he was a shrewd businessman. His first employees were Indian maidens from the local tribes. Most Indians at the time were poor, either living near town in shacks or on tribal reservations.
The maidens were provided with food, modern housing, fashionable clothing and education – and they brought home an honest day’s wage. Some would say Mr. Finch introduced the first anti-poverty program to New SorGun. But he didn’t stop there. The town received an annual licensing fee of $1200 which was invested in a school house the first year. (New SorGun’s total yearly budget was less than $5,000 at the time)
To the business owners in town, Eastman was a saint. The loggers and other lonely men living in the region suddenly found New SorGun THE place to visit. They would stop by Gary’s Gun Shop, Walkers General Store and the Miss Kitty Saloon during the day, and spend the rest of their money at the Illahee that night. Main Street in New SorGun was booming.
Despite the economic woes resulting from the Civil War (inflation, stalled westward migration), by the spring of 1867, New SorGun was enjoying the greatest economic expansion it had ever seen. Even the farmland to the south of town, which had been deserted since the Indian War, was being revitalized.
The remains of the farms destroyed in the war were still evident.
With the increased commercial activity and Mr. Finch’s licensing fee, the town treasury was overflowing. With a schoolhouse built, the town unanimously voted to expand the docks in order to keep up with the increased shipping activity.
As summer turns to fall in 1867, the little frontier town of New SorGun is expanding more rapidly than ever before. New businesses, including the Illahee, have opened up shop and the town is gaining recognition as the commercial center in the region. Not everybody is happy with the new changes, and growing pains are sure to ensue, but New SorGun is open for business and folks in the western states and territories are finally taking notice.
Credits:
Thanks to NMUSpidey for creating the Eastman T. Finch character (and extensive background story)
And thanks to Schulmanator for developing the Miss Kitty character and her corner saloon.
Both characters will continue to make appearances throughout the continuation of this CJ.
New SorGun reached the number 1 spot on Ben’s Top Ten as well as a number of Best of the Best awards for the last update – so a big Thank you to everyone for their support and comments.
I hope you enjoyed this last update, and thanks for stopping by.
Replies to Business Tycoon Wanted
Mastof: I live in the San Francisco area, and I come to make things hot, spicy, and bit strange
Hmmm… Big city folks are always welcome in New SorGun, but the Sheriff is worried about keeping a ‘spicy’ town under control. 
ggamgus: 2nd picture: *JAWDROP*
Thanks!
dubaidude303: Love that 2nd picture dude!
Thank you dubaidude.
Chuck The Mayor: I can only imagine, how hard that'd be! Anyway here's my idea!
I want to make a mini-mall. This will not consist of 4 story parkades, huge fountains and glass floors! This is a small indoor cargo area with about 450 Booths, that are for sale at $3500/mo. It will bring in rural customers accumulating about 50 thousand dollars a year!
**All businesses will have the right to give the community or New SorGun 15% or all earnings**
Sorry for bad grammar, was in a rush!
The Sheriff likes big ideas – but some ideas are just too big for a little town like New SorGun – perhaps in the future.
Mithrik: This is nice, and I think I already saw that 2nd picture sometime before in your CJ. Either that, or it looks quite similar to some other one.
Excellent memory! I needed a rustic scene and I was short on time so I stole a previous image 
hahei: I have a plan, I'll build a large, tall building that can be used as a landmark. Thant in turn will draw large amounts of people towards a small chain of hotels. This, according to estimates, could pull about 10,000 dollars per year, half of which can go to the town of New Sorgun.
EDIT: Sorry, I forgot the one sentence rule, here it is.
Dear Simcoug, I have plans to open a small chain of 3 hotel in the New Sorgun area, and it will, according to my estimates, pull in about $10,000 per year, half of which will go to the town of New Sorgun.
Well, the Sheriff thought about your proposal, and the revinue sharing idea was a big hit among the town council, but he doubts your ability to fill the hotels considering the town is currently only home to one Inn. Your idea will be filed in the ‘future ideas’ folder.
sucram17: g-g-g-great!
Thanks.
NMUSpidey: Two words: rum running.
Sheriff Stonewell ain’t the best at rithmatic and writin’ but he knew where your application was coming from and felt you had the talent to run New SorGun’s newest business venture. Congrats!
Helsinki 2: I'll Build a railroad to NSG which will attract freight , people and could start to turn New SorGun into a serious Port for shipping , Generating unprecedented amounts of Cash.
The Sheriff likes the way you think – but last time he checked the transconnental railroad was still slowly working its way to San Francisco – and the Northern Pacific branch is barley under way back east.
AcaCZV: Is that a car in the first picture, near the house in top right corner? great CJ, i really love it... keep it going!
Nice catch
LastTrueChamp: Eager to see the commercial expansion. Great job!
Thanks – hope you liked the last update.
MilitantRadical: It's frontier life for me thanks.
Me too!
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