In Part 1 we looked at one version of the story that described the event that gave Placerville, then known as “Old Dry Diggins,” the name “Hangtown.” In Part 2 we continue with two other versions of the story from…
Category: Gold Country History
Criminal Annals, Part 1 – Hangtown
During the early years of California, after the acquisition of the land by the United States and before and official state or local government was established, communities created their own laws. Normally they were the laws that were used in…
Skinner Winery: New Vines from Family Roots
It was 1842 and James Skinner, his wife Jessie and his oldest son, James Jr., stepped off a boat into the United States. Thirty years old at the time, Skinner had been born in the Scottish town of Kettle in…
Marshall Discovers Gold at Coloma – But When?
By an act of the California State Legislature, officially the discovery of gold by James Wilson Marshall in the millrace of Sutter’s Mill at Coloma took place on January 24, 1848. That is the basis for the celebration of the…