El Dorado County History Historical Souvenir of El Dorado County California with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of its Prominentmen and Pioneers. Oakland 1883. Paolo Sioli, Publisher. Compiled by P. Sioli. Transcribed by Peggy Hooper, Oct 2009. This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter. All persons donating to this site retain the rights to their own work. LOCAL HISTORY. SALMON FALLS, Located on the banks of the South Fork of the American river, at the mouth of Sweetwater creek. The name of the town was derived from the cataract in the American river near the site of the town, whither the Indians used to come down from the mountains to catch salmon, of which the river abounded. Early in 1849 very rich diggings had been discovered by Mormons at Higgins' Point, about a quarter of a mile below town, close to the river, and called after Higgins, the first person who settled here with his family � sometime during 1848 � coming from Australia to California, and he consequently opened the first store. R. K. Berry, from New York, arrived here in September, 1849, in company with H. Passmore, Thomas Brown, H. Williams, Larraway Benham and ___Barlow. O. Smith, who afterwards kept the first store at Uniontown, and one Haskell were arrivals of that year also. Up to this time it had been only a Mormon settlement, but Mr. Berry's idea was not satisfied with such things. With great energy, in the spring of 1850, he went on to take out a possessory claim of the land, laying out a town there, which was surveyed and platted by P. N. Madegan in May, 1850. The streets were laid out after a regular square network. Those running parallel with the river were named ; Water, State, Government and Washington streets. Across, the Sweetwater creek was Sacramento street, and those running across, up from the river, were called High, Polk, Taylor, Clay, Brower and El Dorado streets. The population during the summer of 1850 was growing fast, and plenty of town lots were sold. Among the purchasers we find the names of Riely, Fradion Berry, Bowls, Cramer, Smith, Hunnewell, Coon, Plumb, Downs, Higgins, Burk, Beasly, Cooledge, Kelley, Haskell, Miller & Ford, Brooks, Richards, Asbeel, Van Chausse, Whipple, Boyd, Gifford, Rice, Fulberton, Brownell, Kelley & Tate, Packwood, later of Pilot Hill ; Friedschlager, Lamarre, who struck the first digging on the flat ; Ramsey, Markham, Spong, Walls, Brown, Dr. McMeans, Hayes and Otis. Berry opened another store in the spring of 1850, located on the bank of Sweetwater creek, and got the appointment as the first alcalde of the district. Crug kept the first hotel in town, but he sold out to Berry and went east ; the first physicians in town were Dr. McMeans and Dr. Hook. Mrs. Higgins was the first white woman in the community, and kept on so for quite a while until Mrs. Berry and her sister arrived from the East, in the fall of 1852. A Post office was established here as early as 1851, with T. R. Brown postmaster, and a regular stage line to Sacramento passed here since 1851. School was first taught by Miss Charlotte A. Phelps, now Mrs. Ed. T. Raun of San Francisco, then of Coloma, who owned the bridges at Coloma, Spanish Bar, Kelsey and Salmon Falls. The first bridge across the American river here was built in 1853, this was washed away and another one was put up ; the bridge property being a very well paying business, this being the main road from Sacramento to all those mining camps in the northern part of this county to all the river bars on the Middle and North Forks of the American river, and to all the mines beyond there in Placer county. In 1856, Mr. Raun sold out his interest in all those bridges to Richards & Pearish, and later Mr. Richards was the sole owner of this bridge. The railroad, however, which took away the travel from this road and the giving out of the river bars, did not give a profitable outlook, and since the high-water washed away the bridge for the second time it has not been rebuilt. The town that in a short time did grow from a few Mormon huts to a community of some note, with a population of about 3,000, with many stores, and other pertainings of a mining town, that could make some show with three well built up streets, with good paying mines, on the flat as well as on the river bar, is gone. All that is left is a store, the school house and Mrs. Berry's residence and hotel ; the latter was partly erected in 1850, this had been shipped around Cape Horn from the East, and was bought by Mr. Berry to make some debt good. The trees in front of it were set out in the fall of 1854, and January, 1855. There were some mining camps in this township around which some little towns had been built up ; their fate, however, was similar to that of Salmon Falls; only a few scattered roofs remind one of the location of the town site. One of them was Pinchem gut, or Pinchem tight, located at the junction of Pinchem ravine and Weber creek, near an old sawmill. A man by the name ? Ebbert kept a store and saloon there, and taking out his pay for drink or goods in gold dust, used to pinch the gold dust so tight in order to get as much as possible. He was a shoemaker by trade, and a German by nationality. The first school in the district was taught by a Frenchman in the house of Mr. Etzel, another storekeeper, and Miss Van Doran succeeded him. Near by was another town, Jayhawk, named after the Missourians, who first settled down on the place. On the Coloma road there was Green Springs, once the location of Green valley Post office, which now is located about four miles farther east close on to Rose Springs, so called from the abundance of wild roses growing there around the springs. There was a store kept on the place till i858, also a saloon and a blacksmith shop. Wing's Store, the place where polls are kept now, in this precinct, used to be a store in former years. McDowell Hill on the South Fork, below Salmon Falls, once had a population of about 100 miners with four stores. EL DORADO, Up to the time of its incorporation as a town, in the winter of 1855, the village went by the name of Mud Springs, and was a mining camp of some note ; this was one of the first mining camps in the county, the first locations having been made in 1849 and '50. The name of Mud Springs, which is not unfrequently used even now, was derived from some springs near town that had been used by emigrants to water their cattle and other stock, by which means the surrounding ground had become quite muddy, and to distin- guish these springs from the Diamond Springs, about two miles further up, the passing emigrants called them Mud Springs. The first quotation of the name of El Dorado, instead of Mud Springs, was in a cor- respondence under date of August 7th, 1855; but officially the change did not take place until January 1st, 1856. The incorporation line of the present place concerns all what was then known as Empire Ravine, Dead Man's Hollow, Loafer's Hollow, Logtown creek, Matheney's creek. Slate and Dry creeks. James Thomas was one of the first settlers, he erected in the winter of 1849 to 1850 a trading post and hotel, called Old Mud Springs House. The year of 1851 developed the camp to its utmost capacity. To the rich placer mines worked all around the discovery of a lot of quartz veins was added, and re- sulted in the erection of five steam quartz-mills on Matheney's creek, and four others on Logtown creek, which, together with all the mines, gave employment to not less than 500 laborers. A great many stores, hotels, boarding houses and other business places were engaged to provide for the necessities of all of them. Among the residents of early El Dorado or Mud Springs we find just as many names of men who became prominent in time as any of the other towns of equal size in the county. .Messrs. Blanchard. Meredith, Tebbs were the first attorneys ; the Harvey Brothers and Dr. H. M. Fiske were the first physicians. Of secret societies, the Masons are represented at El Dorado with the Hiram Lodge, No. 43, F. and .A. M. ; the Odd Fellows, with Aurum Lodge, No. 23.; the (Grangers with El Dorado Grange, No. 178. In 1856 the Grand Consistory of Placerville granted a charter to organize a Lodge of E. Clampsus Vitus, at El Dorado, and the following Knights were elected officers : C. P. Jackson, N. G. H. ; T, Foster, G. R. P. ; W. D. Hinman, C. P. ; J. E. Simmons, C. V. ; T. J. Steward, G. R. F. ; B. F. Davis, G. R. M. ; H. W. Merritt, G. R. S. : P. Schramm, D. F. D. ; E. Willow, G. R S. : Mr. Wetherwax, G. R. F. El Dorado is located about half way between Shingle Springs and Placerville, on the Sacramento and Placerville stage road ; surrounded by a section of country that is well adapted for agricultural pur- poses. The town is connected by a daily stage, running between Placerville and Shingle Springs. On the night of the election day, in the fall of 1859, a difficulty arose between Messrs. A. W. Myatt and C. C. Bowker, in which the latter cut the former with a knife, killing him instantly. He was tried, found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to five years confinement in the State prison.