Front:
Ola Coleme
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT OLD COLOMA.
Thrilling, stirring, romantic, few towns in California are, so rich
in historical associations, so tremendous in influence on the đevelop-
ment, not only of the State but also of the Union, as Old Coloma,
It was here that gold was first discovered in such unbelievable
abundance that the attention of the whole world was focussed upon it,
and it soon became the Mecca for the hordes of adventurous spirits who
sallied forth on land and sea in response to its lure of gold.
estimated that not less than 45,000 crossed the plains in '49 to reach
the new El porado, Then the silence of Old Coloma's peaceful valley,
the solitude of its embosoming mountains, undisturbed for centuries,
gave place to the noise of babbling multitudes who poured into it from
all quarters of the globe.
and pretentious two story stone buildings appeared as if by magic; the
1ittle valley was thronged with excited, bustling crowds eager to
wrestle with the yellow demon - Gold.
the thousands.
which had become the principal post office in California.
press Riders were kept busy đelivering letters at $1.00 each to the
many mines around.
office, unclaimed by the thousands who came but moved on, or never ar-
rived.
It is
Over night a town sprang up; log shacks
Its population quickly reached
For years all new comers were bound for old Coloma,
Six pony Ex-
Wagon loads of letters were sent to the dead lettei
The Mill, run by Messrs winters, Marshall & Bayley, đid fine busi-
ness selling. lumber at $400.0n per thousand feet.
$50.00 a barrel.
standing the excitement and the cosmopolitan character of its people,
Coloma was comparatively peaceful and law abiding. Justice was swift
and sure.
dows, and iron ring in the floor to which obstreperous prisoners were
chained,
business men.
Flour was worth
Fortunes were quickly made and lost: yet, notwith-
A part of the old Jail still remains, with its barred win-
In 1854 a Sunday law was passed, signed by all the leading
The same year the Odd Fellows Lodge was organised.
When El Dorado County was formed Coloma became the County seat, bui
its population dimini shed as quickly as its gold, and in 1857 the County
seat was transferred to placerville.
Every acre of the Coloma valley was turned over in eager search for
gold, first by the whites, then by the Chinese, but as the gold played
out the miners drifted to other fields.
remained only as a memory.
Soon the colorful, hectic dayɛ
The gleam of gold has gone, but no spot in the Sierras is more
serene and beautiful than the exquisite valley the Indians called
"Calumma"
- Beautiful Valley,
Interesting Facts Series - No,2.
Copyright Ashers' photos,
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