On Monday, September 17, 1923, a fire at the California Door Company in Diamond Springs got out of control and before it was finally extinguished, it had burned over 1,000 acres of cattle grazing land and most of buildings in…
Category: Gold Country History
Origin of the Names for California and El Dorado County
The names that are given to states, counties, communities and even the streets on which we live, come from many sources. Some have complicated mythical origins (with numerous variations), others reflect the location from which the first settlers came, while…
American River Canyon, Part 2 – Early Improvements to the Road
Due to its extreme steepness, the eastern portion of Johnson’s Cut-off from Echo Summit to lower Lake Valley was not suitable for most uses. Asa H. Hawley solved this problem in 1855 by constructing a new road – Hawley’s Grade…
American River Canyon, Part 1, The Road
In the early days of California, there were more than forty stations or travelers stops located along the portion of what would ultimately become Highway 50 between Placerville and Echo Summit. Some were large structures and some as small as…