Georgetown

Main Street here is a hundred feet wide, and the reason is a fire. In July 1852 flames took the canyon town in about half an hour, and rather than rebuild in place the miners cleared the ridge above and started again within days. They laid the new Main Street out at a hundred feet and the side streets at sixty, wide enough that fire could not jump. The camp had been called Growlersburg for the weight of its nuggets. The street is still that wide.

What the plaque says

Georgetown Founded August 7, 1849 by George Phipps and party. Nicknamed Growlersburg from the heavy nuggets that "growled" in the miners' pans. Georgetown was the hub of an immensely rich gold area. After the disastrous fire of 1852 the old town was moved from the canyon in lower Main Street to its present site. Unique in early day planning, Main Street was laid out 100 feet wide and side streets 60 feet. Population was 3,000 in 1854-56. Historical Landmark No. 484 Tablet furnished by California Centennials Commission. Base by Georgetown Divide Rotary Club. Dedicated October 20, 1951 by Georgetown Divide Rotary Club and James W. Marshall Chapter, E Clampus Vitus

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park — 7.3 mi
  The tailrace at Coloma where a carpenter found gold in January 1848 and the world came running.
• Empire Mine State Historic Park — 23 mi
  The oldest, deepest, richest hard-rock gold mine in California, with 367 miles of flooded tunnels underneath.
• Nevada City — 26 mi
  Gaslamps, brick storefronts, and the Nisenan who are still fighting to be recognized on their own ground.

More markers nearby

• Greenwood — 4.1 mi
• Gold Discovery Site — 7.7 mi
• Coloma Road-Coloma — 7.8 mi
• Marshall's Blacksmith Shop — 7.9 mi