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Register of the El Dorado County Gold Rush Papers, 1852-1865
Mss53
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Table of contents
Title: El Dorado County Gold Rush Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1852-1865
Collection number: Mss53
Creator:
Extent: 0.3 linear ft.
Repository:
University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
Stockton, CA 95211
Shelf location: For current information on the location of these
materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language:
English.
Collection is open for research.
[Identification of item], El Dorado County Gold Rush Papers, Mss53, Holt-Atherton
Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library
El Dorado County, one of the original 27 counties and third most populous after San
Francisco and Sacramento during the Gold Rush, was the site of James Marshall's original
gold discovery (Coloma, 1847). By the following year the area faced a massive influx of
gold seekers, notably along the American and Cosumnes Rivers. The largest communities in
El Dorado County were Coloma (county seat from 1850 to 1857), Placerville (county seat
from 1857), Georgetown and Diamond Springs.
Gold was discovered early in Placerville (1848) and the area proved to be one of the
richest in the Mother Lode. This was always one of the largest towns in the Sierra,
having a population of over 6,000 throughout the Gold Rush period. Among its illustrious
citizens, one should mention J.M. Studebaker, blacksmith, who went on to become an early
automobile tycoon, and Philip D. Armour, butcher (1852-1856), who became a noted Chicago
meat packer.
Diamond Springs, three miles south of Placerville, had about 3,000 residents, several
stamp mills and a post office in 1853. It too was a rich site and hydraulic mining
continued there into the 20th century.
Other items in this collection are a deed to land on the "Smith Tolbert Road" (1865) and
a notice of continuance in the case of A. Howells vs. A. Sands (1852). The latter
document mentions attorney, A.J. Buckner, and is signed by County Clerk, Josiah Gordon.
El Dorado County, one of the original 27 counties and third most populous after San
Francisco and Sacramento during the Gold Rush, was the site of James Marshall's original
gold discovery (Coloma, 1847). By the following year the area faced a massive influx of
gold seekers, notably along the American and Cosumnes Rivers. The largest communities in
El Dorado County were Coloma (county seat from 1850 to 1857), Placerville (county seat
from 1857), Georgetown and Diamond Springs.
The collection contains two Placerville items. Both are letters relating to Post Office
business (1852; 1858). The collection contains a Diamond Springs letter from Joseph S.
Bradley acknowledging receipt of a water company transcript from the Secretary of State
(1853). Other items in this collection are a deed to land on the "Smith Tolbert Road"
(1865) and a notice of continuance in the case of A. Howells vs. A. Sands (1852). The
latter document mentions attorney, A.J. Buckner, and is signed by County Clerk, Josiah
Gordon.
List of names mentioned in documents Bradley, Joseph S...............................
Buckner, A.J...................................... Conze,
D............................................ Gordon,
Josiah...................................1850 census, age 24 FL Howell, A. (possibly
"Abel")..............1850 census, age 25 OH Jacobs, Rudolph
................................ Nugent, Thomas C.............................1850
census, age 28 IN Small ms. collection, Cal State Lib. Sands,
A............................................ Spence,
A.H.......................................Postmaster (1859) SF Herald (2-21-59); d.
11-25-90 According to Cal State Lib. Biogr. File