Author’s Note:  There are many discrepancies on Bonanza about the ranch house.  In “The Philip Deidesheimer Story,” Gil Fenton tells Deidesheimer that Adam designed and built the house, but in other episodes it’s stated that Joe was born in the house.  Since Adam is only twelve years older than Joe, they can’t both be true.  I choose to believe Adam designed and built the house because it makes more sense to me.  Another inconsistency is the location of the bedrooms.  For example, in “The Magnificent Adah” Hoss explains he took so long because Adam’s door was open and tells Joe he’s lucky that he lives at the other end of the house.  Yet, in “Vengeance” it appears Hoss’s room is next to Joe’s.  Since “The Magnificent Adah” is a first season episode and closer to the time frame of this story, I put Hoss’s room at the front of the house by Adam’s.  The furniture in the great room is different in the first season and I used “A Rose for Lotta” and “Mr. Henry Comstock” as my guides for the furniture the Cartwrights purchase for that room.  My description of Hop Sing’s kitchen comes from “Feet of Clay” and I plead guilty to moving the kitchen, washhouse and Hop Sing’s bedroom around to where they made sense to me.  I used a combination of “Elizabeth, My Love” and “The Spitfire” for how Adam’s bedroom was furnished, but mostly “The Spitfire”.  For the furnishings in Joe’s bedroom, I used “Marie, My Love” and “My Brother’s Keeper”.  I used “The Outcast” for descriptions of the front yard.

References:
The basis of Adam and Dave Townsend’s conversation in Chapter 1 comes from The American Pageant: A History of the Republic by Thomas A. Bailey.  For information about Nevada in the late 1850s, I used The Roar and the Silence: A History of Virginia City and the Comstock Lode by Ronald M. James and the following web sites:
http://www.nevada-history.org/beginning.html#invasion
http://www.nevadaheritage.com/timeline/timelinemainpage.htm

I found the lyrics to Kiss Me Quick and Go, which was written in 1856, at the following web site:
http://www.pdmusic.org/1800s/56kmqag.txt

I learned about Joe Froggers, a type of cookie that existed in 1858, at:
http://www.cakespy.com/2008/08/not-joe-mammas-cookies-legend-of-joe.html

I found information on the McCormick reaper at the following web sites:
http://www.vaes.vt.edu/steeles/mccormick/harvest.html
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blmccormick.htm

I used this web site to describe what Little Joe saw as he watched Adam shave:
http://www.en.nassrasur.com/razorcentral/index.html

I used the following web sites for information on cattle drives:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3741/is_n12_v39/ai_12111899/
http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpioneer.html#cowboy
http://www.cowboyshowcase.com/cowboy_chuckwagon.htm

For information on Placerville, I used http://ci.placerville.ca.us/our_city/about/history.asp and Wikipedia.  For information on the Cary House Hotel I used http://www.caryhouse.com/history_new.htm

Adam quotes from the works of Christopher Marlowe, Robert Herrick and Ben Jonson in Chapter 3.

I used the following web sites to get information about bowling during this time:
http://www.bowlingballs.us/bowling.htm
http://helpwithbowling.com/history-origins-of-bowling.php
http://www.tenpinbowling.org/view.php?page=the_game.history
http://www.hickoksports.com/history/bowling.shtml

I found information on the history of Halloween in the U.S. at the following:
http://halloween.monstrous.com/mischief_night.htm
http://www.jeremiahproject.com/culture/halloween.html

I used the web site http://www.onlinequilter.com/MommyMe/19thCenturyChildrensGames/tabid/275/Default.aspx for information on Fox and Geese

I used the following web sites for information relating to Adam’s house:
http://www.northwoodstimberframes.com/why-timberframe.htm
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/outdoor-buildings/4213580?click=main_sr
http://chestofbooks.com/architecture/Building-Construction-V2/Stone-Rubble-Foundation-Walls.html
http://chestofbooks.com/architecture/Building-Construction-V4/Plumbing-Fixtures-Sinks.html
http://chestofbooks.com/architecture/Building-Construction-V4/Baths.html
http://chestofbooks.com/architecture/Building-Construction-V4/Locating-Fixtures.html
http://sawdustmaking.com/Wood/wood.html
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr113/ch05.pdf
http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/maintenance/construction-basics/selecting-and-buying-lumber/
http://www.essortment.com/all/wherecanfindi_rqep.htm
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/TPS/roofingexhibit/wood.htm
http://www.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief19.htm
http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic/sg/bpg/annual/v05/bp05-05.html
http://www.connerprairie.org/Learn-And-Do/Indiana-History/America-1800-1860/19th-Century-Building-Trades.aspx
http://ohioantiques.com/rope.htm#3

The Christmas card Thomas sends comes from http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/xmas13.html

I checked www.winklerandmoss.com/images/heritage-color.jpg for the colors Ross and Delphine could paint their house.