May 18, 2020 - El Dorado Hills

Region 38

 

 

 

County: El Dorado

Location: East of Sacramento, between on a north-south line, Green Valley Road (Old Coloma Road) on the north and White Rock Road on the south (Old Emigrant Road - Carson Valley (NV) to Sacramento / Sacramento and Eldorado Wagon Road /Placerville - Sac City Road / Clarksville-White Rock Emigrant Road.

Year Incorporated: Unincorporated - Originally part of Clarksville (Post Office - July 14, 1855, "Clarkson's Village") and in modern times El Dorado Hills (Post Office -September 16, 1962.) 

Special Story: El Dorado Hills was conceived by Sacramento developer Alan Lindsey in the late 1950s. Highway 50 was in the works. The Cold War was raging. Local aerospace firms were expanding. Lindsey saw the rolling hills of El Dorado County as a perfect place for those engineers and their families. He acquired roughly 11,000 acres of ranch land and arranged for financing by 1960. 

The original master plan, prepared by architect Victor Gruen, covered the area generally north of U.S. Highway 50, and part of the area south of US 50, now considered to be part of the community. El Dorado Hills was envisioned as a large-scale master-planned community that would be completely planned from its inception as a group of residential "villages". Other land uses in the master plan included a business park, 18-hole golf course, community parks, schools, a community shopping center, and small commercial centers in each village. The master plan emphasized open space between villages and the opportunity for outdoor recreation.

Population: 46,293 (2020)

Historical Landmarks: Mormon Tavern (1849, CHL#699 1270 Joeger Cut Off Road, EDH 95762) - 22 room hotel, restaurant, saloon, dance hall and Pony Express exchange station on the Clarksville-White Rock Emigrant Road. 

The Oldest Known Building: Old Miner's Cabin (Clarksville)

Famous People That Have Lived Here or Traveled Though Here: Lived here - Joerger. Tong, Kyburz, and Grigg Families; Traveled Through Here (Individuals Staying at the Cary House Placerville) - 

 

If I only had one day to spend in this town, what should I make sure to see or do? Visit the El Dorado Hills Town Center-West,  the Clarksville Cemetery (Mormon Tavern Cemetery, 1850) in El Dorado Hills, the Mormon Tavern CHL#699 Plaque, and the Placerville-Sacramento Valley Railroad (Sacramento-Placerville Transportation Corridor, former Southern Pacific Railroad Placerville Branch) crosses White Rock Road and along Old Placerville Road and Payen Roads.

The Best Time To Visit This Town: Anytime after Covid-19 rules are relaxed.

Historical Society or Visitors Bureau Contact Information: Clarksville Regional Historical Society [https://www.edhhistory.org/] and El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce [https://eldoradohillschamber.org/]

Clarksville Days - 7th Annual (May 6, 2017) Video [https://www.edhhistory.org/clarksville-days-2017.html]

 

Author: Kris Payne - Regional Vice President, Region 38

[*Thanks to Wikipedia - El Dorado Hills, Clarksville Regional Historical Society, EDH History Forum, and other internet websites for content.]

 

Comments from fellow history lovers welcome below!

 

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commented 2020-06-01 12:45:06 -0700 · Flag
Thanks Stephen Ferry for your comments. I am good on your additions. They personalize the community with special information. “The small PG&E power plant…” you identify is by definition a Substation – A Substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. I was a US Navy Submarine Force Electrician for 5 years.
commented 2020-06-01 08:51:50 -0700 · Flag
One more thing, Folsom Lake is on the North border of El Dorado Hills (EDH). Folsom Lake Dam was built about 1956 and is the confluence of the North and South American Rivers. Launch is at Brown’s Ravine on Green Valley Road. Feel free to correct me is any of this is not exactly correct.
commented 2020-06-01 08:34:26 -0700 · Flag
The Mormon Tavern marker is on Joerger Cutoff Road by the small PG&E power plant…
Best time to visit is NOW, restaurants are open and so are the hotels.
Incorporation is in process and hope to be completed for the 2022 November election.
Stop by Nibbler’s in Town Center for a Dark Chocolate Salted Carmel or a Creame Brule Malt Ball (No Malt, just looks like that)
District Church opened its large lawn area for services this weekend. Lot’s of folks getting back to being in relationship.
commented 2020-05-29 08:36:42 -0700 · Flag
Christine Esser from CCHS. Arrowhead Management conceived the concept. We will post new articles every couple of weeks and keep the past articles available for continuous enjoyment.
commented 2020-05-28 22:23:36 -0700 · Flag
This is a very nice read that gives us a great peek into so much of our local history. Thank you for writing this.

Paul Booth
President
Clarksville Regional Historical Society
commented 2020-05-19 20:02:57 -0700 · Flag
Very enjoyable read. Thank you for sharing this information about your historic area.