Rail Road Flat

There was never a railroad here. The name comes from primitive mule-drawn ore cars running on rails in the diggings, which was the only rail this town at 2,600 feet ever had, and the bronze is careful to say so. The Petticoat Mine was the largest producer. In 1880 black fever went through and the plaque says the population was decimated. The post office had opened in 1857 and the Edwin Taylor store went up in 1867.

What the plaque says

RAIL ROAD FLAT THIS HISTORIC MINING TOWN, ELEVATION 2600 FEET, WAS FOUNDED IN 1849 AND NAMED AFTER PRIMITIVE, MULEDRAWN ORE CARS USED HERE. THE CENTER OF RICH PLACER AND QUARTZ MINING, ITS LARGEST PRODUCER WAS THE PETTICOAT MINE. AS A RESULT OF BLACK FEVER, THE TOWN'S POPULATION WAS DECIMATED IN 1880. THE POST OFFICE ESTABLISHED IN 1857, THE EDWIN TAYLOR STORE BUILT IN 1867 AND THE SITE OF AN INDIAN COUNCIL HOUSE ARE AMONG PRESENT-DAY ATTRACTIONS. REGISTERED HISTORICAL LANDMARK NO. 286 PLAQUE PLACED BY CALIFORNIA STATE PARK COMMISSION, IN COOPERATION WITH RAIL ROAD FLAT COMMUNITY CLUB, AUGUST 4, 1957

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Columbia State Historic Park — 21 mi
  The Gem of the Southern Mines, still open for business on a car-free Gold Rush main street.

More markers nearby

• Sandy Gulch — 2.8 mi
• West Point — 3.8 mi
• Glencoe — 4.0 mi
• El Dorado — 8.1 mi