HomeMy Public PortalAboutPlacerville, IdahoThe Idaho Statesman
Placerville's Magnolia Saloon — souvenir of a gold camp
"Placerville presents a very
handsome and neat appearance,"
wrote W. A. Goulder after a visit
there in 1876. "The business portion
of the town occupies four sides of a
square and comprises an excellent
hotel kept by Mr. James David-
son ... There are two meat mar-
kets, both doing a thriving business;
one kept by Messrs. Garret &
Hayes, and the other by Mr. John
O'Donnell. The amount of meat
daily sent out by these two shops
speaks volumes for the appetites of
the miners, as well as for the pros -
perity of the camp."
Detailing all of the leading busi-
ness houses, Goulder inevitably got
to the saloons, of which there were
four "arranged around the Plaza or
Square at convenient distances.
They all seem to be doing a fair
business; quiet and good order
characterizes all of them. I have
neither seen or heard of any drunk-
enness, broils or unpleasantness
whatever."
From this observation, the native
of "Old Virginny" went on to ex-
pand on Jefferson's theory that they
are governed best who are governed
least: "It is remarkable that in a
community where everyone feels at
perfect liberty to do just as he
pleases, with the smallest danger of
penalty or censure, even for any ex-
cess that may occur, there should
Idaho
Yesterdays 4
By Arthur Hart
be an entire absence of any acts de-
serving to be complained of ... this
shows that the world, in sports, has
been entirely too much governed,"
he concludes.
By 1881, Placerville's mining pros-
perity and population had dwindled
considerably, and a reporter who
visited that year found "two well -
kept family hotels," but only two
saloons "with Brunswick billiard ta-
bles.
"It boasts a plaza, too, like the
early California towns, and from
the great pine flagstaff drooped our
country's star - wrought banner half-
way down in homage to the slaugh-
tered president." (James A. Gar-
field had been shot a few weeks
earlier.) "The old.town, like Idaho
City, has had its share of severe
fires, and, were it peopled by less
enterprising citizens, would be a
desert waste today."
Although still going downhill, Pla-
cerville attracted notice in Elliott's
"History of Idaho Territory" pub-
lished in 1884. "The town of Placer-
ville, though somewhat decayed, is
far from lifeless." Speaking of the
saloons, the observer said. "The
Magnolia is a fine building, con-
ducted by James McKay. The wants
of the thirsty can also be supplied
at John Nelson's or Halley & Don -
ovan's." He also noted that there
was no church building in town, but
that both Methodists and Episcopali-
ans held monthly meetings in a
rented hall. In an ingenious, if cryp-
tic summary of the local economy,
the author concludes: "Altogether
Placerville presents an appearance
of sufficient vitality to satisfy the
desires of the people."
On August 17, 1899, Placerville
had her most serious fire. The
Statesman headline proclaimed,
"Fire Sweeps Placerville From
Face of the Earth." Actually there
were 20 or more buildings and the
schoolhouse left standing, plus
"about half of Chinatown," but the
old town never regained her former
dimensions again.
Later fires, in the early '20s espe-
cially, further decimated the ranks
of buildings facing the plaza. The
Magnolia, grand old saloon first pic-
tured in an Elliott lithograph in
1884, survives in excellent condition,
and is now the museum of local his-
tory. Now nearly a century old, the
Magnolia will continue to remind
visitors of a time when Boise Basin
gold lured thousands of miners and
built communities like Placerville.
PIONEER DAUGHTER Katherine
M. Brogan was born in Placerville
to James and Minnie McDevitt. Her
father opened the town's first
butcher shop in 1863. "Kitty" has
never moved from Boise County,
serving as clerk of the district
court, auditor and recorder and
clerk of the board of county com-
missioners since 1927. Her chil-
dren are Patricia Egurrola, Justin
Brogan, Virginia Ritchey, Jayne
Eiden and John Brogan.
PLACERVILLE, (below) another
gold boom town with a colorful
history, now is a peaceful moun-
tain town supported by cattle and
lumber industries; this picture was
taken more than 20 years ago by
Howard W. Steward. The Idaho
City Stage line (above) was photo-
graphed around the turn of the
century; the picture was loaned by
the Idaho State Historical Society.
Ai
will be displayed in the Magnolia Saloon which -
Magnolia Saloon t o House Relics
As Placerville Memorial Museum
By UTAHNA L. HALL
Statesman Correspondent
PLACERVILLE — A saloon where
miners once brawled will open its
doors as a museum Wednesday.
The Magnolia Saloon on the north-
east corner of the Placerville Plaza
will become the Henrietta Penrod Me-
morial Museum in honor of a teacher,
postmistress, storekeeper and collector
of pioneer relics.
Mrs. Bruce McKenzie, Placerville,
museum committee chairman, said the
committee was formed in 1971 although
the museum had been planned for
years before. Other members are Mrs.
Howard Davies and E. A. (Bud)
Payne, both of Placerville.
Mrs. Henrietta Robison Penrod died
in January 1971. She had been inter-
ested in establishing a museum and
had collected many relics in her store.
Mrs. Penrod was the grand- daughter of
Martin Cathcart, Placerville pioneer
boot and shoemaker.
She was educated at St. Margaret's
Hall in Boise and Albion Normal School
and then taught in Centerville and Pla-
cerville before serving as postmaster
and store owner in Placerville for
many years. She held aloft the, torch of
civic pride in Placerville at a time
when its population dropped to half a
dozen persons, Mrs. McKenzie said.
Today the population of Placerville
remains at 10 permanent winter resi-
dents.and then skyrockets to around
100 with many summer residents and
visitors.
The Magnolia, a white frame build-
ing, was built in 1900 for a saloon and
closed its doors in 1917 with prohibi-
tion, although it has occasionally been
used for other purposes since then,
Mrs. McKenzie said.
This is the second building to bear
the name Magnolia as the first burned
in the big fire of 1899. The original, one
of Placerville's early saloons, was
bought by James McKay in 1866.
The museum committee plans to ar-
range displays to tell stories of the
Boise Basin, mainly of Placerville, Pio-
neerville, Centerville, Quartzburg and
Granite Creek, Mrs. McKenzie said.
The opening will feature exhibits
from the old Star Ranch and the Philip
Ranft family who lived there for 40
,years after 1875.
r1 Ir3
q qz of l�q ps
A PICTURE OF HIMSELF AS A BOY is viewed Placerville. The picture will be displayed in the
by Harry Palmer, 80, who was born and reared in Placerville museum. Palmer now lives in Idaho
City.
Gip 4tahe � _� i5�7a t1c
The ranch, located on the old Harris
Creek Toll Road three miles from Pla-
cerville, contained 480 acres and
boasted one of the finest racetracks in
the West. Here horses from California
and the Northwesr and eve Kentucky
raced against Idaho- horses, sometimes
wild horses and even donkeys. A saloon
and dancehall also attracted miners
and ranchers.
The old violin which Mr. Ranft play-
ed at the dances and the loving cup his
wife won for waltzing will be on dis-
play, along with pictures of the ranch
and other relics.
Chinese items on display are traces
of the once large group of Chinese who
mined in the Basin. A mural of the Pla-
cerville Plaza painted by Mrs. Hazel
Badgerow of Boise hangs on one wall.
The committee members and other
interested persons have interviewed
Placerville pioneers and their,4descen-
dants in an effort to recount the story
of the area. The committee has dlso re-
searched the history in books.
Briefly, they have learned thet the
townsite was selected en Dec. 1,, 1862,
by Capt. Relf Bledsoe. The town was
named by John Murphy and Henry
Martin, who found gold on Wolf Creek.
The Idaho Territorial Legislature
meeting in Lewiston in 1863 chartered
Placerville, and President Abraham
Lincoln in the same year established a
post office in the town, the first in
Southern Idaho.
At that time the town was referred
to as the guard to Boise Basin, since
most of the miners came into the Basin
by that entrance, Mrs. McKenzie said.
With a population of some 5,000 per-
sons in 1863, Placerville had 12 saloons,
five stores, two hotels, a bakery, a jail,
a brewery, a theater, and many log
cabins.
The population was thinned down by
two major fires in 1874 and 1899. The
big forest fire of 1931 which burned
Quartzburg took its toll at Placerville
as many of the men worked in the
hardrock mining at Quartzburg.
The population was always mainly
Irish although there were many Eng-
lish and Chinese as well as Scandina-
vians during the Quartzburg mining
era.
A Catholic priest, Father Mesplie,
held the first church service in Placer-
ville on Jan. 4, 1864. The roll call of the
Irish rings with the names of Learys,
McDevitts, Brogans, Halleys, Cath-
carts and O'Bryans.
Today besides the Magnolia saloon, w
the town boasts the Masonic Hall, Epis-
copal Church, the brick building hous-
ing the Boise Basin Boosters Club, the
old Boise Basin Merc, the Robison
store, and the historic cemetery above
town on the hill, as well as many old
homes and a number of new modern
houses.
AN OLD LAMP which will be displayed in the museum at Placer-
ville seems to light visions of the past in the eyes of Sterlin Stearns,
son of Sheriff and Mrs. Jack Williams of Idaho City.
For years Boise Basin dancers danc-
ed all night at Placerville on July 3 and
then all night July 4 at Idaho City. This
tradition ended when the dancehall in
Placerville burned in the 1930s.
In the early days the dancers filled
the saloons. It was on their way home
to Centerville from one such affair that
the three fiddlers of Ophir Creek were
murdered. Even now if one listens in
the whispering pines around the old
mining claims, one may near the rams;
strains of violin music, as played byz
the three fiddlers or perhaps by Philio
Ranft as he tuned up for a dance at the
Star Ranch, Mrs. McKenzie said.
To get to Placerville, one may take~
Highway 21 from Boise via Idaho City,
or Highway 55 from Boise via Horse-
shoe Bend and the Harris Creek Road.
Then again one .might travel directly
from Boise Valley by helicopter and
land in the Placerville Plaza, Mrs.
McKenzie suggested.
ntore Operation Survives100 Years
By HALL n er One Family PLACERVILL VILLE — Roo binson's Gener-
al Merchandise store in Placerville cel- Fire wipea out the business and sa-
ebrated its 100th birthday July 28 in the loon district of Placerville in 1874.
ownership of one family. Cathcart joined other men and women
Jack A. Craig, owner, is the great in rebuilding the town within a month
grandson of Martin Cathcart, who of the fire and reopened his shoe
founded a cobbler and shoe shop in business in July.
Placerville on July 28, 1874, and later He soon expanded into men's cloth -
extended his merchandise into other ing and other merchandise to feed a
lines. Cathcart, incidentally, took his growing family of seven children.
first subscription to the Idaho States-
He was a man of large girth and
man in 1874 from' Judge Milton Kelly, large interests. He was initiated into
* * * Placer Lodge No. 3, A.F. and A. M on
>' " ° "'.' ~'x ^ "• "<: r: < >.: > %<::<s February 19, 1870, and by April of
that year had passed through t _ de-
grees to become a Master Mason.
:? In 1880 he was elected a Boise County
commissioner, a post he held for 14
years. He also was chairman of the
Placerville Board of Trustees for eight
years.
The Idaho Territorial Legislature,
meeting in Lewiston in 1863, chartered
Placerville as the first city in the terri-
tory, according to Walter P. March,
present mayor of Placerville.
-0:`' a• H At the time of the first census in Ida -
'' ho in 1863, Placerville had'. nflf +;nn
of 3,254 in comparison to t
City of 6,275.
Placerville was granted
office in southern Idaho 1
:.:.:...::. �.;: >:.. :;::. <:; >:: >: Lincoln in 1863. Today it h<
population of about 80 pei
winter population of nine.
Fire was always a hazan
ing camp. Again in 1898 a
and saloons and many of
burned. Even though he w,
Cathcart rebuilt an even
Ir than before. He had be
perous because of the -bar
ing operations of the famo
Mine near Quartzburg, se
away.
S OLD AS STORE — Antique
lock, one of the collector's items
d in the Robinson's General
rchandise Store in Placerville
s shown by Mrs. Evelyn Craig,
anager. (Photo by Lance Ar-
nold)
hen owner of the paper which cele-
rated its 110th birthday recently.
Cathcart of Scotch descent was born
n County Derry, Ireland, on Sept. 6,
835. When he was a young man, like
o many others from Ireland, he came
o the California gold fields and hence
the Boise Basin gold rush by way of
he Florence mines in northern Idaho.
After living in various Boise Basin
wns, he settled in Placerville after he
arried Henrietta Wilhelmina Claus, a
ative of Germany, on Dec. 31, 1872.
he had come to Placerville under the
uspices of her cousins, Mr. and Mrs..
us Kohny.
Only a decade later when was in his
70s did Cathcart permit his son James
to take up the reins of the store. Two
other sons, Martin +Jr. and William,
had gone to Boise to enter the mercan-
tile business. Martin Sr. died at age 81
on Dec. 26, 1916, and was buried with
all the pomp and circumstances befit-
ting his years and Masonic affiliations
in the tree - studded cemetery above the
town. James stayed on with the store
until 1923, when he left for San Diego,
Calif. to work in a larger mercantile
establishment.
His sister, Elizabeth, known as Liz -
zie, had married Ellis S. Robison,
known as Paddy, who came to the pla-
cer mines from Pennsylvania and who
FOUNDER — Portrait of Martin Cathcart taken when he was 67
years of age. By then he was a man of stature and position with
seven grown children. and several grandchilden. He founded the
Placerville store on July 28, 1874, a century ago. -
! 7P
stayed to help Lizzie manage the store.
They had three children, Mrs. Hen-
rietta Robinson Penrod, who was to fol-
low them as store owner; James E.
Robison, who became a mining engi-
neer and was killed in 1938 in the
mines in South Africa, and Mrs. Lo-
rene Robison Craig Anderson, who now
lives in Boise.
It was to Henrietta that the manage-
ment of the store fell after her father's
death in 1927 and later the subsequent
illness of her mother.
Henrietta was rather like her grand-
father, Martin Cathcart, for she was
large in body and big in mind and dis-
position. She was hospitable, outgoing
and always civic minded. She was
known as "Mrs. Placerville" for that
interest and for collecting artifacts
from the vicinity.
She had been educated at St. Marga-
ret's Hall in Boise and Albion Normal
School and taught in the lower country
and at Centerville before the demands
of the store kept her home.
She and Lizzie almost faced disaster
in the summer of 1931 when fire
burned Quartzburg and threatened Pla-
cerville as well. Their stock of goods
was carried to Placerville flats fo
safekeeping. They survived this nee
catastrophe only to have the store burn
in 1933 when the next door Ellis Hotel
burned.
Like her grandfather before her,
Henrietta decided to rebuild the store.
She constructed the large whit
clapboard frame building which now
stands on Main Street facine the Plaza
�
/// y
In the hiatus before the store was
rebuilt, Henrietta married her long-
time suitor Robert (Bob) Penrod. He
helped her with the store until his
death on February 23, 1955. Henrietta
had become postmaster of Placerville,
succeeding both her mother and father
in this post. Upon the death of Hen-
rietta, Mrs. Evelyn Craig, the wife of
Jack A. Craig, became Postmaster, a
post she still holds.
Henrietta willed ownership of the-
store
to her nephew, Jack A. Craig,
who was born in Red Bluff, Calif., the
son of Dee Craig and Lorena Robinson
Craig. Lorena has never personally
managed the store on her own, but she
has baby sat it for her mother and sis-
ter and now for her son Jack and his
wife. She is known for her colorful and
hospitable nature and ability to stay
cheerful in adversity. Often she is ac-
companied to Placerville on her store-
keeping jaunts by her husband's sister,
Mrs. Isabelle Anderson Bostic, whose
father owned the Anderson ranch of
the Anderson Ranch Dam on the Boise
River.
Jack A. Craig with his red hair and
r medium stature is the "spitting image"
r of his, grandfather, Paddy Robison, ac-
cording to Mayor March, who has
known them both.
On weekends Jack puts on bib over-
alls, sometimes striped, the same style
his grandfather wore to keep store,
e March said.
But Jack, like his great grandfather
Martin Cathcart, has wider interests
than the store. During the week he
works in the Boise County Assesor's of-
fice and is running for that post on the
Republican Ticket at the November
election. So far he has no opponents,
either Democratic or Republican, he
said. Mrs. Winifred Proffer, longtime'
county assessor, is retiring from the
position.
During World War II, Craig served in
the infantry in the`South Pacific. He is
a member of the Placerville City Coun-
cil and a member of the Booster's Club
and is affiliated with Pioneer Epicopal
Church in Placerville.
Besides her duties as postmaster, his
wife, Evelyn, manages the store in
Jack's absence. They keep it much as
it was in Henrietta's time with the pot-
bellied iron stove as the center of inter-
est and warmth in winter.
They keep a big stock of striped hard
stick candy in stock in large glass jars,
antique clocks from England and Port-
land. In addition to groceries and other
stables, the store has souvenirs and an-
tiques. Some from the Placerville area
are for display only. Three years ago
the city council gave Jack A. Craig
permission to sell beer on a package
goods off premises permit only.
The beer was a great boom to the
hundreds of soldiers from the 20th Spe-
cial Forces Group, U.S. Army National
Guard, from the Southern States who
surrounded Placerville in mock war-
fare during the last two weeks.
BIRTHDAY OF 100 YEARS — Robinson's General
Merchandise Store, founded July 28, 1874, cele-
brates its first century July 28,' with a birthday
party in Placerville. It is located on Main Street
and faces the Plaza and the Magnolia saloon, now
a museum. The building is constructed of white
clapboard pine painted white.
Townsite Auction at Old Minim
By WALTER H. JOHNSON
Statesman State Editor
PLACERVILLE — The last
of the federal land reportedly
granted by Abraham Lincoln
to the town of Placerville will
not be auctioned today.
District Judge J. Ray Dur-
tschi issued a temporary re-
straining order Friday stop-
her by a vote of 27 to 9. The
size of the Placerville elec-
torate, h o w e v e r, was ex-
ploited in the complaint that
stopped the lot sale.
The complaint noted Section
50 -1403 of the Idaho Code
"provides ... residents of any
city who are dissatisfied with
the city's contemplated sale
ping the sale of 17 IoAs. The
Placerville city council of four
members voted to sell the lots
April 14.
Except for one sliver of
land without access, the mile-
square townsite of Placerville
would have become privately
owned if the sale had gone
t h r o u g h today, provided
buyers offered bids which
equaled the appraised prices
for the lots of from $550 to
$1,750 and plunked down the
cash.
Joe P. Locklear, a Boise de-
tective, was the plaintiff in
the action which stopped the
lot sale until a hearing could
be held by Durtschi in the dis-
trict court at Boise, Wednes-
day at 3:30 p.m.
Placerville Mayor Walter
P. March noted his problems
were fewer than those of big
city mayors since he "needs
to satisfy only 36 registered
voters." March was elected to
a four -year term last Novem-
Community Halted by Judge
The complaint also said the
same section of the Idaho
code provides that a public
hearing must be held by the
city council before city prop-
erty can be sold. It added a
hearing was not held.
Mayor March reports old -
timers insist that Lincoln
gave a land grant of the
townsite to Placerville. How-
ever, when the Bureau of
Land Management made an
intensive search of Washing-
ton documents no record of
the grant could be found, he
said. Another version is that a
land patent for 99 years was
issued by Lincoln.
Miners settling in Placer-
ville during the Boise Basin
g o l d r u s h undoubtedly
squatted at a convenient site
and built their shelters with-
out worrying about ownership
of the land.
How many came and settled
in Placerville is shrouded in
myth. Any "guess" census
would depend. on how many
gulches the count included
and whether the Chinese were
counted at all. The casual and
racist attitude toward the Chi-
nese is indicated by news sto-
ries during the gold days that
would give a terse report
about some Chinese killed in
a mine without names or de-
tails.
During the 1960s, Placer -
ville's remaining residents
began to fret about their
squatter's rights. They had a
tax advantage since they paid
no taxes on the land at all,
only on iiinprovements, but
they wanted a clear title to
the land.
With the assistance of Sen.
Frank Church, March said
legislation was passed turning
all the land in the townsite
over to the City of Placerville
with the provision that it be
distributed to the squatters
first for the cost of a patent.
The patent cost ranged from
$10 to $100.
of real property may file a
petition with the city council
expressing said dissatisfac-
tion. If said petition contains
the names of 10 per cent of
the qualified electors of the
city, the city council must
have a special election on the
question of the sale."
After its hectic past, Pla-
cerville could suitably change
its name to " Placidville."
Mayor March estimates its
population is about seven in
winter, 12 during week days
after winter ends and about 75
on weekends. The youngest
resident _ during weekdays is
49 years old.
Placerville has about 36
houses which range from
fancy $35,000 to $45,000 resi-
dences to block houses built
80 to 90 years ago. The frame-
work of the floors in the block
houses usually is laid on
rocks. The walls are 1x12 inch
boards with a 2x4 plate on top
which supports the rafters for
the roof.
"You don't know what ca-
sual is until you live in Pla-
cerville," declared June
Davies who with her husband
Howard moved to Placerville
when the freeway approach
chopped through the Davies
Floral company at the top of
Fairview Hill in Boise.
Locklear's complaint noted
a petition was filed June 10
with the city council "which
expressed dissatisfaction with
the contemplated sale." A
copy of the petition was at-
tached to the complaint.
Evelyn J. Robinson, deputy
clerk of the Fourth District
Court at Idaho City, said this
"You have time to just sit
and chat with people. Some-
thing you don't get much op-
portunity to do if you are rid-
ing the treadmill in Boise. We
love every minute of it," de-
clared Mrs. Davies.
She is acting city clerk for
Placerville and works with
the Western Idaho Community
Action Agency in Idaho City,
an agency which she de-
scribes as an advocate for the
poor. Davies is Boise County
road supervisor and a mem-
ber of the Placerville city
council.
March opposed the mass
sale of the lots himself. He
felt the lots should be sold in
smaller groups. However, he
did not veto the action of the
f o u r- member council. His
veto, anyway, could have
been overridden by a three -
fourths vote.
The council members are
Jack Craig, who operates the
Placerville store; Jon
Brassey, who has a land de-
velopment company; Clay
Tolleson of Honstead Motors
at Nampa, who has resigned
due to business needs, and
Davies.
petition contained the .names
Of five persons. She said the
petition was signed by 0. C.
Locklear, Joe P. Locklear,
Joane Dunbar, Margaret Dun-
bar and another Locklear
w i t h the first name too
blurred to read.
This petition asked for a
special election on the lot sale
and said, "no declaration
(was) made by the council
and mayor as to the intended
use of the funds to be derived
from such sale."
March reported there "was
some talk" of spending the
money from the lot sale for a
w a t e r and sewer system
study, but he said, "There is
no way we can finance the
end product ... and I am not
much for milking the'tederal
goat."
March said that under the
terms of the legislation grant-
ing Placerville the townsite,
the money from sale of land
must be used for capital im-
provements.
The .city does have a water
system and lots within 60 feet
of the system must pay a
water assessment.
Placerville operates on a
budget of about $5,000, much
of it received from state
sources such as the city's
share of liquor and highway
user's revenues:
March makes it clear that
he is a resident of Placerville
although he is "domiciled" in
Boise where he has operated
a general garage for some 20
years, .
/C/ a k a r
Milk bottles and other
antiques sit in a cor-
ner of the Placerville
City Hall, which once
served as the town's
slaughterhouse.
Meadows, forests
and peaks surround
the area.
Faq p A I a f Z Pa q i'S
A peek into thepast
Tired of the hustle and
bustle of modern life in
the city?
Less than two hours
from Boise rests a town
called Placerville.
By Karen Bossick
The Idaho Statesman
PLACERVILLE — Jack Craig
has sold old- fashioned stick can-
dy to tourists who stop by his
great - grandfather's general mer-
cantile store for 23 years. He
wears the same style of bib over-
alls his grandfather wore.
But the white clapboard build-
ing looks as much a museum as
a working store.
Just check out the old -fash-
ioned Jim Beam bottles shaped
to resemble woodpeckers. Or the
historic placer mining lantern,
which Craig refers to as "an
overblown Coleman lantern."
The three dozen buildings that
make up historic Placerville
make up a sort of living muse-
um.
Those who venture to this
town today will find an interest-
ing mix of buildings and arti-
facts that whisper of the past
without the tourist trappings of
so many historic towns.
No one should visit Placer-
ville without visiting Pioneer
Cemetery, one mile west of
town. It's one of Idaho's most
interesting burial grounds.
But Placerville is anything
but a museum in Craig's mind.
When the former Placerville
mayor thinks of Placerville's
past, he thinks of his Irish great
by Karen Bossick /The Idaho Statesman
Jack Craig looks over his family plot in the Pioneer Cemetery. Craig's family has lived in Placerville since his
Irish -born great - grandfather Martin Cathcart came to the area from Ireland in 1862.
The Magnolia Saloon and Boi-
se Basin Mercantile now
house museum items donated
by longtime families of Pla-
cerville.
. • T--h(5
grandfather walking here from
Placerville, Calif. — the town's
namesake — to seek his fortune
in 1862.
He thinks of miners who
changed the contour of the land
by hosing it down to get at the
gold buried in its belly.
And he thinks of the quarts of
vanilla that lined the store's
shelves during Prohibition,
many of them helping populate
the town drunk's house.
Craig's Placerville — 13 miles
northwest of Idaho City — was
conceived in 1862 in the midst of
a gold rush to the Boise Basin.
You might say it was reborn a
few years ago, thanks to curious
visitors yearning for a peak into
the past.
The town was founded by both
Union and Confederate soldiers
who built the town around a
village green with a flagpole,
now a stately Ponderosa pine
from which drapes the U.S. and
Idaho flags. Both sides helped to
raise the flagpole in 1864 with
three hearty cheers for Abra-
ham Lincoln. The gold mined
here, however, paid the Union's
bills.
The town, which tallied 3,200
Placerville
PA' Z °f
loayde history.
one
ample i V
slab A marked "Fid-
dlers," surrounded by four
pines, commemorates one of the
only truly ugly events of Placer -
ville's past.
The story says that two fid-
dlers were walking from Placer-
ville in 1863 to a gig at the
Centerville mining camp when
they stumbled upon a miner be-
ing robbed. The fiddlers and
miner were murdered.
The man charged with theirV
murders was released because
Idaho didn't have criminal law
then. The Territorial Legisla-
ture passed one a year later. 1
The graves of Irish miners pre -
dominate the eastern side of the
cemetery. Chinese miners were City Hall: This building,
i
buried in the western end and g,
dug up a year later so their n 1862 as an old butcher shop,
bones could be whittled clean may be the last structure left in
and sent back to China. The Idaho in which dirt was used in
Chinese believed their bones the attic for insulation. You can
could not rest until they were see where the smokehouse used
interred in their homeland. to be — where the big rock boul-
Most of the tombstones, cor- ders are in the east corner.
ralled by wrought -iron fences, Currently being restored, it
were probably ordered through features a handsome bar from
Montgomery Ward and Sears Virginia City, Nev.
catalogs, Craig says. Magnolia Saloon: This build -
Among the more unique ceme- ing, once owned by Craig's aunt,
tery plots: an infant's tombstone is now a museum housing a vari-
laying in a baby buggy fash- et of artifacts from the area,
ioned out of wire. A pine fell including Chinese bowls, porce-
bending it out of shape a few lain spoons and fans, whiskey
years ago, but visitors can still dugs, medicine bottles and his -
recognize the outline. toric pictures.
Emmanuel Episcopal Church: The original saloon, built in
The town has one church, a 1865, burned in 1899 and was
small Episcopal chapel believed rebuilt in 1901. Check out the
to have been built in 1894. The indentations along the floor to
church boasts finery you see where miners stood when
wouldn't expect of a dusty min- the bar was along the wall.
ing camp — a turn -of- the- centu- It's open from 2 to 5 p.m. every
ry pump organ, leaded glass win- Saturday and Sunday from Me-
dows depicting scenes in morial Day to Labor Day. Ad-
Christ'
Z )2aq Ps
.Ile on a windy dirt road
climbs over a summit.
u also can get to Placer.
by turning west on the
es Creek turnoff south of
City. The mostly flat dirt
es Creek road (Forest Road
takes you along Grimes
c past dredge tailings.Turn
on Forest Road 307 at New
3rville and follow this_ to_
A third way is to take the
arris Creek Road (Forest Road
17) just south of Horseshoe
end on highway 55.
Whichever way you choose,
an on a 1' /z- to 2 -hour drive
:)m Boise.
by September 1863, nearly be s i e an t e e 1 that
of a
came a ghost town during World church 1
mission is ree.
Boise Basin onnt wooden
in the mining own
War II. Local mines closed be- Silver City.
1864
walkway across from the Mag-
cause they couldn't get machine The redwood cross on top was
nolia Saloon is part of the muse -
parts. Unemployed miners covered with copper after wood-
flocked to the coast for work.
um. Townspeople have stocked
peckers decimated the original.
Today the town boasts only
its shelves with dutch ovens,
about two dozen residents. You can still attend church
old- fashioned meat grinders and
Most are senior citizens like service each Sunday at 11 a.m. A
women's bonnets —just as it
Craig who share a in their retired priest comes to Placer-
might have looked 100 years
pride
historic surroundings. So much ville from Boise to conduct ser-
ago.
so that a few years ago they vices once a month; lay people r
Dredge Tailings: Walk a little
ignored their rheumatism and lead services other Sundays.
east of town to see some of the
other ills and armed themselves Robison's General Mercantile
tailings left behind by the ghosts
with paintbrushes and hammers Store: Craig's great grandfather
of the past.
"They'd
to restore many of the buildings. built this store as a bootmaker's
have a big dance and
To raise money for preserva- shop 120 years ago after he tired
get drunk Easter Sunday and
tion, they occasionally couple of trying to make a living with a
start the next day. They'd run as
historic tours of the town with goldpan. The original building
long as they had water," Craig
beer hotcakes, homemade cake burnt in 1899; the second, in
says.
and pie sales, auctions and gold 1933.
To get there: Drive northeast
It may not be all in the family
out of Boise on Highway 21 to
panning. Pioneer Cemetery: The ceme- much longer. Craig decided to
Idaho City. Turn on Idaho City's
sell the store after his wife's
Main Street and follow it west
death a few months ago.
of town to Forest Road 307. It's
13 miles from Idaho City to Pla-