Historical Marker · No. 29
Volcano
Volcano, Amador County · California
Erected by the Department of Public Works, Division of Highways, with a companion plaque added by the Volcano Business and Professional Association, James W. Marshall Chapter No. 49 E Clampus Vitus, and Upcountry 88 Lions, 1934
This is a town that was given an obituary and outlived it. The larger bronze is a Division of Highways pointer casting four miles and an arrow, and it was set up at Pine Grove in 1934 because a planned dam was expected to put Volcano under water. Geology and water rights killed the dam. The sign now stands in Volcano itself, still saying four miles, and a second plaque was bolted beneath it in 1980 reading Not By A Dam Site.
What the plaque says
4 MILES VOLCANO STARTED 1848 BY SOLDIERS OF COLONEL STEVENSON'S REGIMENT. NAMED BY MINERS BECAUSE OF APPARENT VOLCANIC APPEARANCE. HERE THE FIRST CALIFORNIA RENTAL LIBRARY, 1850, WAS ESTABLISHED, AND ONE OF THE FIRST "LITTLE THEATERS" FOUNDED BY THE "VOLCANO THESPIAN SOCIETY", 1854. INTERESTING CIVIL WAR HISTORY. HISTORICAL LANDMARK NO. 29 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS - DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS VOLCANO - RIGHT HERE! 1934 PLAQUE PLACED IN PINE GROVE AS "OBITUARY" WHEN PLANNED DAM WOULD FLOOD VOLCANO. GEOLOGY & WATER RIGHTS NEGATED PLAN. SO VOLCANO DIDN'T DROWN. NOT BY A DAM SITE! DEDICATED JULY 5, 1980 VOLCANO BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION JAMES W. MARSHALL CHAPTER NO. 49 E CLAMPUS VITUS UPCOUNTRY 88 LIONS
Where it stands
38.44260, -120.63137 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Astronomical Observatory — steps away
- Chaw Sé Roundhouse — 1.3 mi
- Irishtown — 4.4 mi
- Clinton — 5.0 mi