Placerville, CA Real Estate

Historic Placerville combines the beauty of the great outdoors with a rich history and a thriving economic community to create a rural haven not easily matched. The county seat of El Dorado County, Placerville is home to over 10,000 residents. Located along U.S. Route 50 where it crosses State Route 49 and covers nearly six square miles of rich foothill soil.

Historic downtown Placerville features a charming mix of art galleries, antique shops, cafes, boutiques and restaurants that reflect the culture and diversity of this quaint city. With a deep-seeded history dating before the gold rush, Placerville has a wide variety of historic Victorian and turn of the century homes available to prospective home buyers. Notable Placerville residents have included auto maker John Studebaker, clothing maker Levi Strauss, painter Thomas Kinkade and professional baseball player Toby Hall.

Placerville is a historic community from the gold-rush days, and accordingly there are also many old buildings from this period. A walk down Main Street also reveals many historical markers, signifying spots of certain events or persons of importance during this period. Placerville was also on the line of the Pony Express, a short-lived mail carrier service that connected California to the Midwest and East. The Pony Express eventually gave way to the efficiencies of railroad transportation.

Prior to the discovery of gold in nearby Coloma, California by James W. Marshall in 1848 sparking the California Gold Rush, the small town now known as Placerville was known as Dry Diggins after the manner in which the miners moved cartloads of dry soil to running water in order to coax out the gold.

In 1849, the town earned its most common historical name, ‘Hangtown’ , due to the numerous hangings that had taken place there. By 1850, the temperance league and a few local churches had begun to request that a more pleasant name be bestowed upon the town. The name was changed in 1854 when the City of Placerville was incorporated. At its incorporation Placerville was the third largest town in California. In 1857 the county seat was then moved from Coloma to Placerville, where it remains today.

Placerville was a central hub for the Mother Lode region's mining operations. The town had many services, including transportation, lodging, banking, and had a market and general store. The history of hard-rock mining is evidenced by an open and accessible Gold Bug Park & Mine, now a museum that offers tours.

Recreation abounds in Placerville including three city parks that feature playgrounds, picnic areas, meeting halls, softball fields, tennis courts, walking trails, gold courses and horseshoe pits. Placerville’s Aquatic Center features a six lane competitive swimming pool, water slides and offers a variety of programs for all ages.