NEVADA COUNTY, Calif. February 12, 2026 – Bridget’s Gambit, published this month by the University of Oklahoma Press, provides a fresh perspective on women in the West—one that reveals highly productive and engaged entrepreneurs who formed a critical backbone to the Gold Rush and the development of California.
While colorful characters like Lola Montez garner considerable attention, they were often merely an entertaining face for the real engine of growth: the real estate development, merchant trade, and commerce networks populated by women working alongside men as well as independently. Craig Harwood’s meticulously researched book provides connective history of the Mother Lode, specifically Nevada, Sacramento, Yuba, and Contra Costa Counties.
Bridget Miranda Evoy was born to sharecroppers in Ireland in 1791. She followed her husband seeking better fortune to Missouri in 1830, only to find herself widowed with five children within a few short years. Her choice for providing for her family was an unusual one: irresistible opportunity presented itself in faraway California, alongside unknowable risks. Framed through today’s lens, the Evoys story underscores not only the contribution of women, but that of immigrants in creating and sustaining a thriving Western society.
Drawing on journals by others written during Evoy’s Overland Trail journey, the reader gains insights from travelers like Niles Searles, as well as discovering the origins of place names and developing a richer understanding of geography—the lay of the land by horseback, stagecoach, or spring wagon. Retracing historical maps, the reader discovers the origin of McCourtney’s Crossing at a time when it connected Yuba and Nevada Counties through the area near Sheridan, learns of early contracts with Bidwell, and witnesses the shifting relationship that the Yuba and Feather Rivers held in this landscape.
Bridget’s Gambit is an engaging read that pays tribute to strong and pragmatic women who shaped the world around them with an assertiveness that presumed their place as decision makers—a refreshing perspective when contrasted with the stereotypes of sporting women and showgirls. It is also a commentary on the unflappable persistence of immigrants, women, and religious minorities—Bridget and her family were Catholic. Their faith doubtless helped them face the extreme risks and demanding work ethic required to thrive in this rugged environment.
Thanks to Harwood, a distant relation, Bridget Evoy now has a fitting introduction as a true pioneer, innovator, and entrepreneur—a successful matriarch to a clan with far-reaching ramifications on California’s colorful history. It is not every widowed woman over fifty who willingly traverses some 1,800 miles on horseback and arrives to build significant holdings for herself and future generations…Bridget Miranda Evoy was buried in Saint Mary Cemetery, Oakland, California in 1867. Harwood describes the site “Bridget’s final resting place overlooks her Temescal ranch and, quite appropriately, offers a sweeping view of the storied entrance to the San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate. The distant, oft fog- shrouded gateway to the bay represented the threshold to a land of promise and perhaps a symbolic reminder of Bridget’s risky gambit for renewal and opportunity in the West.”
This book is essential reading for those intrigued by women’s place in the history of the West, the Gold Rush, and specifically the Mother Lode—and is especially timely, as March is Women’s History Month.
Order the book or contact your local independent bookseller.
212 Pages, 24 B&W Illus.
$34.95 Hardcover
9780806196558
Vol. 4 in The Women and the American West Series
Publication Date: February 10th, 2026