Placerville is eight miles from Coloma where gold was first discovered in California in 1848. Shortly afterward, the initial recovery of gold from ancient river gravel beds was made in the “dry diggings” in what we now know as Placerville.
Today the little city sits in the foothills astride Highway 50 and serves as a major doorway to the Sierra Nevada.
The rolling hills deeply incised by the South Fork of the American River and its feeder streams now hosts nearly two dozen wineries within El Dorado County. Wine tasting is a favorite sport of locals and tourists alike.
Not everyone was willing to earn their gold through honest work. After a series of robberies occurred, three men were captured, “tried” and quickly hung from a giant white oak near what is now downtown. Following a few more cases of quick and final justice, the bustling mining community earned its identity as “Hangtown.” The stump of the infamous tree can still be found on Main Street in the cellar of a bar appropriately named “The Hangman’s Tree.”
By the time the boomtown was named Placerville, it was on its way to being the third largest town in California in 1854. Today the little city sits in the foothills astride Highway 50 and serves as a major doorway to the Sierra Nevada. Several historic buildings remain but nostalgia lost way to the pleasant city’s progression to a bustling financial and commercial center offering modern conveniences for travelers as well as residents.
Historic Gary House Hotel still stands along Main Street. Accommodations have retained a plush ambiance consistent with the hotel’s role as a provider of comfort to miners who had struck pay dirt and sought luxury as a means of showing off their instant wealth. After the old building aged to the point of needing restoration, the owner of the hotel recovered enough gold from under the building to pay for renovation.
Both the Placerville City Hall and the Placerville Soda Works on Main Street date back to the 1860s. City Hall is still functioning in its governmental role while the Soda Works is a museum. The nineteenth century architecture of the heart of downtown provides a delightful setting for family fare, fine dining, lattes, or generous alcoholic drinks.
On the northern edge of Placerville is Hangtown’s Gold Bug Park & Mine that operated early in the city’s heyday. World War II resulted in the government’s closure of most gold mines, including this one. Today, guided mine tours deep into the tunnel allow visitors to visualize for a few minutes what a miner’s life was like.
The rolling hills deeply incised by the South Fork of the American River and its feeder streams now hosts nearly two dozen wineries within El Dorado County. Wine tasting is a favorite sport of locals and tourists alike. The famed Apple Hill orchards, vineyards, and Christmas tree farms attract visitors each and every fall in the pursuit of fresh fruit, organic vegetables, and freshly baked pies.
Although the South Fork of the American River cuts to the north around Placerville, the little city makes an excellent base for several whitewater runs with put-ins and take-outs less than an hour away. To drive into the more remote backcountry and into the heart of the Central Sierra Nevada, numerous county and Forest Service roads branch rapidly off Highway 50 only minutes after it leaves Placerville.
| Population: | 34,138 | Links: | Chamber of Commerce: www.eldoradocounty.org Community: http://ci.placerville.ca.us Visitor Center: www.visit-eldorado.com |
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From Sacramento travel east on I-80 for about 45 miles. From the north and Auburn drive south on Highway 49 for about 27 miles. From the south and Jackson drive north on Highway 49 for about 33 miles.