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HISTORY
El
Dorado County, California.
LOCAL
HISTORY.
PLACERVILLE
(HANGTOWN, RAVINE CITY)
[section 4 of 5-- 1, 2,
3, 4,
5]
Placerville
industry.
The first foundry was built and set up in the fall of
1855, by Messrs. Hinds & Lundstrom; the first casting was done there
on February 18, 1856, a second iron foundry was established some time in
the Spring of 1858, by Mr. A. T. Melvin; this was located on the lower end
of Main Street, on the north side of Hangtown creek and christened
"Placerville Foundry." Mr. Morey is the owner and proprietor of
the present foundry.
 A circular sawmill was put up in the spring of 1853, by
H. Hollister, near Upper Placerville. Mr. D. Phelps, the agent of Mr.
Hollister in the fall of 1853, advertised the following prices for lumber:
Scantling $35.00 per M. feet; Mercantable boards $35.00 per M feet;
flooring six to eight inches wide, $44.00 per M feet; selected sluice
lumber $40.00 per M feet; clear lumber $50.00 per M feet. Mr. J. H.
Predmore & Co., in the spring of 1854, established the "Excelsior
Mills," grist and saw mill, a 4-stamp mill of the Pacific Quartz Co.
was connected.
Brick had been manufactured at Placerville in quantities
to sell, at Mr. M. R. Elstner's brickyard since spring of 1852.
Mr. S. Randall, in 1856 to '58, manufactured brick on an
extensive scale at the old yard near the cemetery.
Another industry of Placerville is the slate quarry at
Chili Bar, and the manufacturing of roofing slate, which business had been
started by Placerville businessmen in 1875, in which year the first roofs
in California had been covered with this domestic article. The roof of Mr.
Louis Landecker's store is a sample of this roofing slate that recommends
itself.
The northern and southwestern part of El Dorado county
abounds in whit is generally known as soap week or soap root. Some
ingenious fellow, only a few years ago got an idea that this root, which
resembles so much the coarser variety of horse hair, could be used instead
of horse hair in the upholstering business; a trial was made and the
result of it is, that two Placerville firms have about a hundred Chinamen
engaged in the fall of the year gathering the soap root. Tons of it are
being bailed and shipped to Sacramento, where it is undergoing a steaming
process, after which it is sold and used for upholstering of matresses,
etc., under the name of "Excelsior hair." Mr. Louis Landecker
was the first man to start in this new industry.
Messrs. Rogers, Greely & Co., of Placerville, in the
midsummer of 1855, were erecting large flouring mill on Weber creek,
about three-fourths of a mile below the crossing of the Sacramento road
and the creek. This mill was designed for waterpower, and a great business
was done here for years. After its destruction, however, the city of
Placerville, just as well as the whole county of El Dorado, for years were
dependent on the neighboring country for their supply of flour and other
mill-products; until in June, 1873, Mr. James Creighton's new flour mill
was started. This mill is run by water power, fed with water brought down
from Sacramento hill in iron pipes, giving a pressure of three hundred and
fifty feet, discharged by means of a Craig nuzzle against an eight foot
hurdy gurdy wheel. The mill as originally started contained two sets of
stones, one for flour, the other for corn meal and ground barley. The
first 100 pounds of flour that were produced at this mill were put up into
four twenty-five pound sacks, and offered at public auction at the Ladies'
Festival at Sierra Hall, on the 4th of July 1873, the proceeds to be paid
into the fund for building the new school house. The mill property, Mr.
Creighton tried to change in a stock company, a few years afterwards, but
failing in this he finally sold it to Mr. Charles Sibeck, who after
another year took Mr. Cook, late from Illinois, as a partner in the
business ; doing business since under the firm of Cook and Sibeck.
As an industry that was flourishing for a short time,
being on high importance then, we have to mention the Hydraulic Hose
factory of "Old Joe," at Coon hill. In 1854 and '55, when the
hydraulic mining was introduced in the gravel mines of the surrounding
country, a great amount of leather or double canvas hose was always
demanded, until replaced by the iron pipes, and their advantage over all
other means in the line of supplying water to the hydraulic mines was such
a great one, that the former industry had to take its departure.
The introduction of gas light with which the city of
Placerville was supplied in the fall of 1858, considered the time in which
this improvement was executed, amidst the Frazer river excitement, could
be called a great achievement of her citizens. The gas being generated by
burning pitch pine wood in a vast furnace; the gasometer was made for a
capacity of 8,000 cubic feet of gas; and cast iron pipes distributed the
gas from here to every part of the city, and it is gratifying to state
that the entire work, comprising many contrivances of ingenuity and
skilled labor, had been done in Placerville. This enterprise was created
by a Stock Company, Messrs. James Ellis and Darwin DeGolia were the first
trustees of the company. Instead of pitch pine wood, this factory a few
years later, substituted hard coal from Buckeye canyon, Amador county, for
the production of gas.
Of other industries there are two breweries here, both
have been established in early days and since then have always done a good
business. A large fruit drying establishment has been started of later
years in Upper Placerville, working on the Alden principal. A soap factory
was started in 1861 by Messrs. Holmes & Van Time.
Fires
at Placerville.
Up to the year of 1856, from the time of the first
settlement, Placerville, contrary to most other mining places, had been
spared from the fiend; but on April 15, 1856, while a great part of the
population were assembled in the Placerville theater, to great McKean
Buchanan in the character of "Richelieu," a fire broke out in
the Iowa House on Sacramento street, spread with rapidity over the
neighboring buildings, which with the exception of the Post Office and
Hooker's store, were all built of the most combustible material. Dr.
Rankin's office and adjoining dwelling, the Placer Hotel opposite, the
Orleans Hotel and a number of smaller buildings, were all devoured by the
flames. Stevens' new livery stable then caught fire and had it not been
for the changing of the wind, the town might have been swept
notwithstanding the greatest exertions of the fire department, assisted by
many citizens and the members of the theater company. The losses were
quite considerable, most of the losers lost in one hour all their savings
of five long years. Mr. Cary's loss was $15,000; Mr. Levan's $12,000; and
the others, some twenty in number, ranged from $4,000 to $100; the whole
amount being estimated at about $60,000. An incident of bravery occurred
in connection with this fire, that deserves to be mentioned in history.
After the inmates of the Iowa House had rushed out of this building in
utmost confusion and haste, and just when the firemen repaired to the
burning building, they were appalled at hearing Mrs. Rockwell, in the
extreme agony, crying that her youngest child had been left, lying asleep
in one of the rooms of the burning building. The danger was imminent; but
Master Jackson L. Ober, a son of Dr. Ober, and an attache of the Neptunes,
a youth of 14 years, took the fearful risk, and boldly pushed his way
through the flame and smoke to the room where the child lay sleeping,
unconscious of its danger. He took up the child in his arms and cautiously
wending his way back, escaped, and placed it in its mother's arms
uninjured; just as the burning building fell in. As a memorial of his
heroic deed he keeps a slight mark where his arm got burnt.
Another fire broke out on July 6th, the same year, and
what had been feared only, on April 15th, became a reality for this time;
the town was literally swept by the flames; the fire evidently of
incendiary origin, spread with such an immense rapidity that all efforts
to stop its progress proved fruitless and hopeless. The hungry flames
devoured as well the houses rebuilt since the fire in April, as the
remainder of the town, and hardly any of the shanties of old Hangtown had
been spared, they all had to make space for more stately brick and stone
buildings, better answering the character of the city of Placerville. And
still for a third time in the same year, Placerville was visited by hungry
flames on October 7, 1856, a fire broke out in the Pittsburg House of
Upper Placerville, destroying the greater part of that flourishing
village. The fire was supposed to have been caused accidentally by a man
John Murdock, who occupying a room in said hotel, went to bed in a state
of intoxication only a short time before the fire was observed, and who
was burned to death. The following were the losses of the fire: J. W.
Foster, $5,500; S. W. Wilcox, $8,000; W. Flagg, $5,000; A. C. Crosby,
$3,000; N. Wonderly, (Pittsburg House), $3.009; Mr. Monroe, $3.500; E.
Brewster & Co., $2,000; Dr. S. Baldwin, $3,000; J. M. Dorsey, $3,000;
Mr. Gilbert, $500; Mr. Fleischmann, $250; Alden & Stout, $1,750; Joe
Acker, $750; Mr. Morrison, $2,000; M. Livingston, $1,000; Mr. Spencer,
$1,000; Wm. Christian, $1,500; Jacob Wirt, $1,000.
Twice after that Placerville has been visited by great
and destructive fires; first on Sunday, November 6, 1864, between 3 and 4
o'clock A. M., and unoccupied house on Benham place was discovered on
fire, and owing to the combustible material of the surrounding buildings
it spread with fearful rapidity along Benham place, Quartz, Pacific and
Sacramento streets, threatening at one time the whole town. A large amount
of property was destroyted; W. Cooper lost 15 houses, J. Brindley 4, J.
Patton 10 houses, J. Wray 6, Howard 4, H. Olis 9, Henry Louis 3, J.
Jeffree 2, L. Landecker 3 and Simmons one house ; on on August 10, 1865, a
fire came out in a building of Mr. Seely on Quartz Street, the principal
losses were as follows: Thos. Alderson, $10,000, Wm. Thatcher $5,000;
Thos. Hogsett, $2,000: Mr. Phipps, $1,000; Mr. Seely, $3,000; R. H. Black,
$1,600; John Marcovich, $1,500; Woodland $1,000; L. Landecker, Howard,
Espanna, H. H. Thal, R. White and J. B. Jenkins from $500 to $1,000 each.
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