Coloma (California)

Coloma
Street in Coloma
Location in California
Coloma
Basic data
Foundation :	1848
State :	United States
State :	California
County :	El Dorado County
Coordinates :	38 ° 48 ′  N , 120 ° 53 ′  W Coordinates: 38 ° 48 ′  N , 120 ° 53 ′  W
Time zone :	Pacific ( UTC − 8 / −7 )
Residents :	529 (as of 2010)
Population density :	60.9 inhabitants per km 2
Area :	8,690 km 2  (approx. 3 mi 2 ) of which 8,690 km 2  (approx. 3 mi 2 ) is land
Height :	233 m
Postcodes :	95613/95633/95651/95667
Area code :	+1 530
FIPS :	06-14764
GNIS ID :	2582981
Location of Coloma in Eldorado County

Coloma (also Colluma or Culloma) is a settlement area defined for statistical purposes ( census-designated place ) in El Dorado County ( California ).

location

Coloma is located on the south arm of the American River (South Fork American River) 12 kilometers northwest of Placerville , the seat of the county administration and about 20 kilometers northeast of the Folsom Dam , where the north and south arms of the American River meet. The place is accessed by California State Route 49 .

history

→ Main article : Sutter's Mill

The settlement is located in the area of ​​the former village Ko-lo-ma of the Nisenan Indians. In the fall of 1847, business partners Johann August Sutter and James W. Marshall began building a sawmill, which became known as Sutter's Mill .

After Marshall found grains of gold in the outlet canal of the sawmill, which was still under construction at the time, on January 24, 1848, the California gold rush began . For many of the gold prospectors pouring into California, Coloma was the first port of call. Even after the prospectors had spread out in the surrounding valleys, Coloma remained their supply base for several years.

El Dorado County was one of California's 27 founding counties in 1850. Coloma was the only major settlement at that time and became the seat of the county administration, whose district had as many residents as San Francisco in 1850. Immediately, however, there were efforts to relocate the headquarters and in 1857 the administration came to Placerville . This now accelerated the decline of the place.

After the gold deposits that could be developed in open-cast mining had been mined and the gold diggers had moved on, settlers remained who built up an agricultural existence. Among the settlers were a significant number who came from Ticino . In addition to cattle breeding, fruit and vine growing is also practiced in the Coloma Valley. Due to the diverse economic activities outside of the gold rush tourism in Coloma, the place cannot be described as a ghost town despite the population decline .

In the 1860s and 70s, about a third of the population were Chinese and there was a Chinatown . In 1861 there was a pogrom in which some Chinese fell victim. In 1880 Coloma-Chinatown burned down and only two shops remained.

The Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony of refugee supporters of the Japanese prince Matsudaira Katamori existed from 1869 to 1871 in the adjacent Gold Hill settlement .

Population development

year	1850	1860	1870	1880	1890	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2010
Coloma	2000	1646	925	874	537	450	367	339	375	561	606						529

Source: US Census Reports 1870, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 2010

Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park

Marshall Monument in Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park

Much of the site is designated as a Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park . Sutter's Mill is a California Historical Landmark and part of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park , which is also a National Historic Landmark District and listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The state park is under the administration of California State Parks . In addition to a small museum about the history of the place and the gold rush, a functional replica of the sawmill and several historical buildings, there is also the opportunity for visitors to wash gold themselves .

The park also includes the Marshall Monument with a statue of Marshall. Access to the memorial is via California's shortest highway (California State Route 153). Marshall died impoverished in 1885 and was buried in Coloma. As early as 1887, the Native Sons of the Golden West tried to erect a monument to Marshall, which was inaugurated in 1890.

meteorite

The meteorite Sutter’s Mill Bolide , which was observed on April 22, 2012 over Nevada and California, was named after the sawmill . Fragments of the meteorite were found near the sawmill at Coloma and in the nearby Henningsen Lotus Park .

Partnerships

• Clunes

literature

• Paolo Sioli: Historical souvenir of El Dorado County, California: with illustrations and biographical setches of its prominent men & pioneers , Oakland 1883, pp. 177-180 in the Internet Archive
• Alan Beilharz: Marshall Gold Discovery State historic park: teachers guide (English) Plastic Comb - 1991
• Betty Sederquist: Coloma , Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina, 2012, ISBN 978-0-7385-9549-8 Google digitized version has limited access

Web links

Commons : Coloma, California  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Homepage of the Coloma-Lotus Business Council with tourist information; accessed on April 4, 2020
• Homepage of the Gold Discovery Park Association. The cooperating association for Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park ; accessed on April 5, 2020
• Coloma CDP in El Dorado County at www.officialusa.com; accessed on April 5, 2020
• Coloma CDP maps in California state at www.officialusa.com; accessed on April 5, 2020

Individual evidence

1. ^ Coloma (California) in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
2. ↑ Marshall is often portrayed in the literature as Sutter's employee, which he was at Sutter's Fort at first, but in connection with the sawmill he became an equal business partner.
3. ↑ see homepage of the Coloma-Lotus Business Council
4. ^ History of the Chinese in Coloma ; accessed on April 5, 2020
5. ^ Daniel A. Métraux: The Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony Farm and the Creation of Japanese America , 2019, ISBN 978-1-4985-8538-5
6. ^ Hubert Howe Bancroft: History of California. vol. VI. (1848-1859), 1888, p. 482 Internet Archive
7. ↑ Office of Historic Preservation: Gold discovery site , California Historical Landmark No. 530
8. ↑ List of NHL by State
9. ↑ NRIS No. 66000207
10. ↑ Office of Historic Preservation: Marshall Monument , California Historical Landmark No. 143
11. ^ Marshall Monument - California Historical Markers on Waymarking.com ; accessed on March 31, 2020
12. ↑ NASA: Sunday morning bolide over California , 23 April 2012 found.
13. ↑ Seti Institute: Meteorite Alert ( Memento of the original from April 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 26, 2012. 
14. ^ Parks and Trails - Henningsen Lotus Park on the El Dorado County's home page; accessed on April 6, 2020
15. ↑ Astronomy Picture of the Day - Sutter's Mill meteorite from April 28, 2012.