Description
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.
Background
El Dorado County, California, 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.