Gold drew not only miners to the camp at Last Chance Gulch, but also tradesmen and merchants such as George Doan, a mechanic from New York. Doan’s modest home, constructed circa 1865 as a temporary two-room dwelling of vertical board, well illustrates the townsite’s transition from mining camp to established community. Clapboard soon covered the small dwelling, which at that time was situated on a choice corner lot. By 1884, brick veneer further strengthened the walls, and by the 1930s its two rooms had expanded to five. Stucco applied following the 1935 earthquakes added yet another chapter to the construction sequence of this historic residence. The building chronology and original design elements, including the wooden cornice and stenciled window heads, give this unpretentious little gem significant ranking among the district’s few remaining homes from its earliest settlement period.
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