Thursday, March 26, 2015

Coloma Road - Rescue & Coloma, California



DATE VISITED:  03/21/2015

HISTORICAL SITE:  Coloma Road - Rescue to Coloma

LOCATIONS:  4222 Green Valley Rd., Rescue, El Dorado Co., CA & Hwy 49 (Gold Discovery Parking Area)

MARKER #:  747 & 748



DEDICATED:  August 14, 1960

"Past this point on the old Coloma Road, running between Sutter's Fort and his sawmill on the American River, James W. Marshall rode with the first gold discovered at Coloma on Jan. 24, 1848. Travelled by thousands to and from the diggings, this road became the route of California's earliest stage line established in 1849 by James E. Birch"

"Here in the valley of the Cul-Luh-Mah Indians, James W. Marshall discovered gold on January 24, 1848, in the tailrace of Sutter's Sawmill. The old Coloma Road, opened in 1847 from Sutter's Fort to Coloma, was used by Marshall to carry the news of the discovery to Captain John A. Sutter. During the gold rush it was used by thousands of miners going to and from the diggings. In 1849 it became the route of California's earliest stage line established in 1849 by James E. Birch"

Markers Placed By:  Placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the Golden Key of Greenwood, El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, and the Grand Parlors, Native Sons and Native Daughters of the Golden West
 
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS: Note to self: If you plan an outing and then wait a week or so before you go, you should review the places you have outlined on a map.

My oldest son David accompanied me on this trip and I have to say, having someone along is much more fun, but it's doubly so with either, or both, of my sons.

When I picked David up, he said "where first". I looked at the map and pointed...here. "Where's here?" David asked and I couldn't remember.

It was a nice warm day and a very pleasant drive around Folsom Lake passing by the Dam. I've never seen the Dam from that angle and I was surprised at how big it is. Excitedly, I told David to take a picture, which he did. When we got home I looked at the pictures and you just can't get a feel for how enormous the dam really is. I was going to put it here but David took a great picture of the end of my nose with my hair flying since I had opened the window for him to take a clear picture....*hits the delete button*. 

We stopped at the side of the road when our GPS notified us were at the landmark. Looking around, we really didn’t see anything so David got out and found the landmark behind a chain link fence. It lies in a construction area, a bit overgrown and with what looks like insulation on it. We might have missed it if David hadn’t gotten out and looked around.

I put these two landmarks (747 & 748) together since they are a stop and a final destination on the same route. This was the road that went from Sutter's Fort to Coloma. While the early route was a pack trail, it became more and more compacted as more miners poured into El Dorado County. The Oregonians are  credited with bringing the first wagons on the trail. 

Most people think of this road as the major route taking miners into the foothills and while that is true, the road played a role in getting the news out as this is the route James Marshall took back to Sutter's Fort to tell his partner, John Sutter, that gold had been found. 


Coloma Road became the first stage line in 1849. Surprisingly, of the maze of roads that radiated out from Coloma, some still exist:

  • ·         Georgetown Road through Garden Valley (SR 193)
  • ·         Ridge Road to Kelsey
  • ·         Gold Hill Road to Cold Springs and Placerville
  • ·         And SR49 "mother lode highway" Placerville to Auburn via Coloma
 

No comments:

Post a Comment