Historical Marker · No. 464
Prairie City
Folsom, Sacramento County · California
Erected by California Centennials Commission, base furnished by Fern Parlor No. 123 Native Daughters and Granite Parlor No. 83 Native Sons of the Golden West, dedicated November 5, 1950; replaced and rededicated December 13, 2025
The town waited on the water. Nothing could be worked on Alder Creek until the Natoma Water and Mining Company's ditch reached it in 1853, and then the place went up fast: a fifty-thousand-dollar quartz mill, fifteen stores, ten boarding houses, a thousand people, two stage lines a day. Mining fell off by 1860 and by 1880 there was a school and one cabin. The first tablet went up in 1950 and was replaced in 2025.
What the plaque says
Prairie City Near this spot on Alder Creek stood Prairie City, a gold rush mining town and trade center for nearby Rhoad's Diggings, Alder Creek, and Willow Springs Hill. Mining began in 1853 after water arrived via the Natoma Water & Mining Company Ditch, and a $50,000 quartz mill powered the city's development through the 1850s. At its height, Prairie City boasted over 1,000 residents, 15 stores, 10 boarding houses & hotels, and a school, with 2 stage lines running daily. Mining declined by 1860, and by 1880 only a school and one cabin remained. The town has since vanished. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 464 Tablet placed by California Centennials Commission, base furnished by the Native Daughters of the Golden West (Fern Parlor No. 123) and Native Sons of the Golden West (Granite Parlor No. 83). Dedicated November 5, 1950. Replaced and rededicated by the California Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the NDGW (Forrest Parlor No. 86), NSGW Grand Parlor, California Landmark Foundation, & the Bill Beaver Project. December 13, 2025
Where it stands
38.64449, -121.15757 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park — 19 miThe tailrace at Coloma where a carpenter found gold in January 1848 and the world came running.
- Sacramento — 19 miThe Gold Rush river port that became the state capital, and jacked itself ten feet into the air to stop drowning.
More markers nearby
- Folsom-Overland Pony Express Route in California — 2.5 mi
- Terminal of California's First Passenger Railroad — 2.5 mi
- Old Folsom Powerhouse — 2.7 mi
- Coloma Road-Nimbus Dam — 3.3 mi