Silberhaus

Letter from Silberhaus from our Special Correspondent
7-21-296BW

"... If I have failed to provide readers with an adequate view of the far southeasterly border of Rheinland, it is because there is little to be said beyond what my former letters contained.
I have stated that there is a great future in mineral prospecting here along the Dayrel River, and several interests from across the Commonwealth have sought and received extraction rights from the Stadtrat in Rheinwald. These include the Lake Athos Concern (a Westerland interest) and two interests from the Northern Territories; all of them free companies. Of these, only the claim of the Free Company of Saint Kristoff from Tearmann has been thoroughly prospected and met with success.
The boomtown which has emerged around that claim, Silberhaus, has all the energy of Rheinwald's markets with all the charm of its sewer. The miner's houses are half-shanty and half-warren; standing graves dug hastily into the hills and ridges around the mineshaft and boarded over with rough-hewn timbers. Miners and their families bathe like Gremelites in the river, and sustain themselves with dried beans, salted meats, and plain water. These living conditions are set against a generous wage of four gulden per day, and a mine which is expected to produce several thousand pounds of bullion per day at peak production.
Plans to construct furnaces, dormitories, a hotel, general store, and other accommodations will be addressed following the completion of the trainyard's freight platforms... (cont'd p. 7A)"
Johann Matthias Graeter, Correspondent
The Rheinland Repeater

Demographics

In certain places, and at certain times in history, the hand of Fate may be felt weighing on the very fabric of our world; drawing with a certain indefinite gravity all the best that Mankind has to offer. Once she has gathered together the pieces necessary for her gambit, she casts them out to see where they fall. Sometimes, like Friedrich's Folly, they fall heavy and sink beneath the weight of their hallowed commission. At others, they rise to the occasion, and prove once again our right to tame these wild lands.
So it is with the project at Silberhaus, whose people are a diverse and hearty stock, hailing from across the Commonwealth. Taking a walk down Main Street, one can find nearly any food they might desire. Schnitzel, wurst, kebabs, stews, dumplings, cobblers, mash, pasties, beers, liquors, and wines may all be found in less than a quarter of a mile, making Silberhaus the ideal microcosm of the Commonwealth's people. Where in the capital cities of the land one might have to walk nearly an hour from one district to another, in Silberhaus one has only to cross the street.
A visit to the Census and Excise Office in the town will reveal the following:

	Households	Men	Women	Children	Total	Notes
Rheinland	121	91	80	49	220	-
Westerland	62	55	27	11	93	-
Osterland	14	14	1	-	15	-
Tearmalach	65	72	13	2	87	-
Heathmarch	8	9	-	-	9	-
Amot	4	11	6	5	22	-
Zamarkand	10	31	12	9	52	-
SUM	284	283	139	76	498	-

Census Data 1-1-95BW; households include dormitory assignments as well as single-family housing.
But the olfactory kaleidoscope of Main Street is only one part of a much broader story.

Founding Date

96BW

Alternative Name(s)

Line's End

Type

Hamlet

Population

500 permanent residents; 200+ commuters

Inhabitant Demonym

Gilders

Location under

Central Territories

Owner/Ruler

Darrien Lareaux

Ruling/Owning Rank

Director

Owning Organization

Free Company of Saint Kristoff