Coloma, California

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Coloma
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
Sutter's Mill in 1850.
Sutter's Mill in 1850.
Nearest city: Placerville, California
Built/Founded: 1848
Added to NRHP: October 15, 1966
NRHP Reference#: 66000207 [1]
Governing body: State

Coloma is a small town in El Dorado County, California, USA (Latitude/Longitude: 38.8000/-120.8892). It is approximately 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Placerville, California. Coloma is most noted for being the site where James W. Marshall first discovered gold in California, at Sutter's Mill in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush. Currently the town counts approximately 300 inhabitants.

While some people still live in this unincorporated area, Coloma is considered something of a ghost town, as civic buildings such as the jail have been abandoned and left to decay, and other buildings from its boom era (1847-1852) have been converted into museums and other historical displays. In fact, much of what used to be the town of Coloma is now the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park and is designated as a National Historic Landmark.

The name comes from the original natives' (Nisenan Indians) name for the valley Coloma is in; Cullumah, meaning "beautiful." Coloma is on the South Fork of the American River that runs through the valley.

The ZIP code is 95613. The community is inside area code 530.

[edit] Politics

In the state legislature Coloma is located in the 1st Senate District, represented by Republican Dave Cox, and in the 4th Assembly District, represented by Republican Ted Gaines. Federally, Coloma is located in California's 4th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +11[2] and is represented by Republican John Doolittle.

[edit] References

  1. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
  2. ^ Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest?. Campaign Legal Center Blog. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.

[edit] External links