Mormon Island

Mormon Island is a California Historical Landmark in El Dorado County.

Folsom Lake State Recreation Area · location approximate

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Early in March 1848, W. Sidney S. Willis and Wilford Hudson, members of the Mormon Battalion, set out from Sutter's Fort to hunt deer. Stopping on the south fork of the American River, they found gold. They told their story on returning to the fort, and soon about 150 Mormons and other miners flocked to the site, which was named Mormon Island. This was the first major gold strike in California after James W. Marshall's discovery at Coloma. The population of the town in 1853 was more than 2,500. It had four hotels, three dry goods stores, five general merchandise stores, an express office, and many small shops. The first ball in Sacramento County was held here, December 25, 1849. A fire destroyed the town in 1856, and it was never rebuilt. Its site was inundated by Folsom Lake in 1955.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1848 · Gold And Quicksilver District Of California, 1848 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1850 · Map of the mining district of California (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1865 · The Central Part of the State of California. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1869 · Map Showing California Pacific Rail Road Extension (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1893 · Sacramento, California (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Gold And Quicksilver District Of California, 1848, 1848, covering the location of Mormon Island, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Gold And Quicksilver District Of California, 1848, 1848, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours and the location is approximate.

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Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

Mormon Island

Historical maps covering this location

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