 |
| Landmark #400 | Placer County | Visited: April 4, 2015 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | A plaque marking the site of Virginiatown! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: Founded June 1851, the town was commonly called “Virginia.” Over 2,000 miners worked rich deposits here. In 1852, Captain John Brislow built California’s first railroad to carry pay dirt one mile to Auburn Ravine. It was the site of Philip Armour’s and George Aldrich’s butcher shop, said to have led to founding of the famous Chicago Armour meatpacking company.
OTHER TIDBITS: The reason Captain Brislow had to build the railroad was because the water here was too scarce to wash the dirt from the gold! That may have been because of all the miners clogging up the river, looking for gold! One account says there were so many miners in the ravine, “you could walk on their backs and never get your feet wet.” The train started as a man and a mule pulling a cart along the tracks, but that method was abandoned after the digging of a ditch between Virginiatown and Auburn! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
|
| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: 4725 Virginiatown Rd 0.2 mi SE of Fowler and Virginiatown Rds 7 mi NW of Newcastle, CA 95658 ANNOTATIONS: From Los Angeles: ~418mi (673km) — 7hrs |
| When should I go? | Whenever the mood strikes you! |