Historical Marker · No. 282
El Dorado
Mountain Ranch, Calaveras County · California
Erected by the El Dorado Union Community Club, dedicated by the Calaveras County Historical Society; rededicated 1996, 1956
A post office moved in and the town ended up with its name. El Dorado was patented as a townsite in 1872 and took its own name from a sawmill; the Mountain Ranch post office was moved here in 1868, and within a generation the place was called Mountain Ranch, which is its name today. The plaque is mounted beside the bell that rang in the school from 1885 to 1953. It calls itself El Dorado throughout.
What the plaque says
EL DORADO PATENTED AS A TOWNSITE IN 1872. THIS EARLY TOWN DERIVED ITS NAME FROM A SAWMILL LOCATED HERE. A POST OFFICE ESTABLISHED AT MOUNTAIN RANCH IN 1856 WAS MOVED TO EL DORADO IN 1868 AND EL DORADO HAS THUS BECOME KNOWN AS MOUNTAIN RANCH. THIS BELL WAS USED FROM 1885 TO 1953 IN THE LOCAL SCHOOL, ESTABLISHED AS CAVE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT IN 1855. IN 1946 THIS SCHOOL JOINED WITH THE BANNER DISTRICT TO BECOME THE EL DORADO UNION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT. ERECTED BY EL DORADO UNION COMMUNITY CLUB DEDICATED BY CALAVERAS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY JUNE 17, 1956 REDEDICATED 1996 STATE REGISTERED LANDMARK #282
Where it stands
38.22855, -120.54270 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Columbia State Historic Park — 15 miThe Gem of the Southern Mines, still open for business on a car-free Gold Rush main street.
More markers nearby
- California Caverns at Cave City — 2.5 mi
- Calaveritas — 6.2 mi
- Jesus Maria — 6.9 mi
- Peter L. Traver Building — 7.6 mi