How an 1870 Murder Created San Francisco

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Shortly before dusk on November 3, 1870, just as the ferryboat El Capitan was pulling away from its slip into San Francisco Bay, a woman clad in black emerged from the shadows and strode across the crowded deck. Reaching under her veil, she drew a small pistol and aimed it directly at a well-dressed man sitting quietly with his wife and children. The woman fired a single bullet into his chest. “I did it and I don’t deny it,” she said when arrested shortly thereafter. “He ruined both myself and my daughter.”

Though little remembered today, the trial of Laura D. Fair for the murder of her lover, A. P. Crittenden, made headlines nationwide. The operatic facts of the case—a woman strung along for years by a two-timing man, killing him in an alleged fit of madness—challenged an American populace still searching for moral consensus after the Civil War. The trial shone an early and uncomfortable spotlight on social issues while jolting the still-adolescent metropolis of 1870s San Francisco, a city eager to shed its rough-and-tumble Gold Rush-era reputation.

Today’s guest is Gary Krist, author of “Trespassers at the Golden Gate: A True Account of Love, Murder, and Madness in Gilded-Age San Francisco.” The story is an exploration of a nation still scarred by war and for a city eager for the world stage.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Noble gold investments is the official gold sponsor of History Unplug, a company that specializes in gold IRAs and physical delivery of precious metals.
0:07.8	Learn how you can protect your wealth with noble gold investments.
0:11.3	Noble gold investments.com.
0:19.3	Sky here with another episode of the History on Plug podcast.
0:22.5	Shortly before dusk on November 3rd, 1870, just as the ferry boat El Capitan was pulling
0:27.7	away from its slip into San Francisco Bay, a woman wearing black emerged from the shadows
0:31.7	and strode across the crowded deck. Reaching under her veil, she drew a small pistol and named
0:36.1	it directly at a well-dressed man,
0:38.0	sitting quietly with his wife and children.
0:40.1	The woman fired a single bullet into his chest.
0:42.5	I did it and I don't deny it, she said, when arrested shortly thereafter,
0:46.3	he ruined both myself and my daughter.
0:48.3	Though a little remember today, the trial of Lauren D. Fair for the murder of her lover,
0:52.2	A. P. Cuddererton, made headlines from nationwide.
0:55.2	As today's guest, Gary Chris reveals, the backs of the case, a woman strung along for years
0:59.7	by a two-timing man, killing him an alleged bit of madness, challenged an American populace
1:04.2	still searching for more consensus after the Civil War. And it was the most spectacular
1:07.9	case that happened in San Francisco, a city that undergone incredible change in the last few decades, from small Mexican settlement to Gold Rush Boomtown to Hub of the Interagintinental Railway to Victorian Manored City.
1:21.8	Chris is the author of trespassers at the Golden Gate, a true account of love, murder, and madness in Gilded to San Francisco.
1:28.1	We look at a nation still scarred by war and for a city eager for the world stage.
1:32.4	Hope you enjoyed this discussion.
1:36.5	And one more thing before we get started with this episode, a quick break for a word from our sponsors.
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