As the name implies, Placerville in 1862 was the site of placer gold deposits. The town reportedly had a population of five thousand a year later and was incorporated in 1864. Placerville became the major supply point for the dozens of diggings attempted in hopeful emulation of the original strike. The community had saloons, butcher shops, a church, blacksmith shops, drugstores, hotels, and restaurants, but it also had signs of gentility: a millinery and a dressmaker’s shop.
As the easy placering declined, hard-rock mining began, along with hydrau-licking of the hillsides above the original placer strikes. But by 1870, the town had shrunk to a population of only 318, many of whom were Chinese working the so-called played-out claims that other miners had given up on. The town partially burned several times, and a fire in 1899 nearly destroyed it. By that time, Placerville was already in decline, although much of the town was still rebuilt.
Evidence of the extensive placering is found today southwest of town along the Mud Flat tailings of Granite Creek and Fall Creek, and the topographic map shows three nearby placer mines: the Halley, the Reid, and the Leary.
WALKING AND DRIVING AROUND PLACERVILLE
Placerville is a delightful, well-groomed community covering one square mile and featuring many summer cabins, several of them of from its glory days. A large town square, known as the Plaza since pioneer days, is a pleasant site for gatherings, with roof-covered picnic tables and nearby restrooms. But the real stars of the town are a white, two-story Masonic Lodge, the 1865 Magnolia Saloon, the Boise Basin Mercantile Company, an Episcopal church just west of town, and a picturesque cemetery.
Both the saloon and the mercantile are now museums, open on summer weekends. Even if the museums are closed, they’re well worth peering into. The Boise Basin Mercantile has original fixtures, counters, and old stock items. The Magnolia Saloon looks like a museum, not a saloon, but it still features one wall with original wallpaper dating from the saloon’s heyday.
As the signs say, the Boise Basin Mercantile even carried gas, oil, and auto accessories. A side sign announces that the store also once sold Owyhee candy, made in Boise. For more on the word Owyhee, see the Silver City entry, page 176.
Placerville’s Magnolia Saloon does not have the normal false front. Notice the creative way the lettering problem was solved, even when a window intrudes.
The turnoff to the Placerville Cemetery is .2 of a mile west of the town square, where you’ll head south and proceed up to the entry gate.
The cemetery features such diverse groups as Masons, Catholics, and Odd Fellows, apparently well mixed together, unlike many graveyards that are completely sectioned off by affiliation. Several of the people buried there came from Scotland and Ireland.
WHEN YOU GO
Placerville is 13.5 miles northwest of Idaho City. Take Centerville Road (Forest Service Road 307), which leaves Idaho City on the north end of town, for 12.4 miles. At that point, Harris Creek Road joins FS Road 307. Turn north and proceed 1.1 miles to Placerville.