Our Mission is to create a Museum to display heritage and enhance future endeavors through education, the preservation of historical buildings and historical artifacts.
Currently, we are working on the 1939-40 Post Office at 515 Main Street, Placerville, recently named “The Post Discovery Center”. We are undoing the remodeling that was done in the 1970s, while also searching for elements removed from the building and restoring what we can from the original blueprints found at County Facilities. County maintenance found our original lamp post that was run over by a crazy driver. We are excited that the Foundry at Sutter Creek has taken the restoration of the lamp under their wing. Recently the Bulletin Board, that once was located next to the Post Master’s Door, was found at the County Museum. So far we have removed part of the drop ceiling, a few walls, and taken the carpet out of the Post Master’s office in order to expose the original wood floor. When we removed the drop ceiling we discovered the 26’ high ceiling that once had skylights that we plan on bringing back. Elements missing are the Directory Board that was on the other side of the Post Master’s Office, the vestibule from the front lobby, mail boxes, and all the numerous porcelain hanging lights (perhaps up to 100 of them) that were custom made for this building. For some strange reason they even removed the medallions from the ceiling at the entrance - oh…. and the front doors - we would love if anyone knows the story of the doors. If anyone has any knowledge of artifacts that may possibly have come from this building we would really appreciate you contacting us.
Our History:
El Dorado Gold 1848 was incorporated in the Fall of 2020 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with the original goal of acquiring two county-owned buildings on Main Street in Placerville (515 and 525 Main Street) for the creation of a museum to ‘display heritage and enhance future endeavors through education, the preservation of historical buildings and historical artifacts’. Situated across Main Street from the Fountain-Tallman Museum at 524 Main Street, these two buildings would have been a perfect ‘fit’ for downtown Placerville and a wonderful addition to historical preservation in El Dorado County. Unfortunately, the original goal did not fully occur.
On October 20, 2020, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors unanimously accepted the proposal submitted by Jill G. Kearney, President of the El Dorado County Historical Society (EDCHS) and Kris Payne, EDCHS Past-President and Proposal Designee, to acquire both 515 Main Street and 525 Main Street. However, with the replacement of two county supervisors on January 1st, 2021, the new Board of Supervisors ultimately agreed to sell only 515 Main Street to the newly-formed corporation (El Dorado Gold 1848) for $100,000.00. The building at 525 Main Street was sold to the City of Placerville. Funds for 515 Main Street were provided by the El Dorado County Historical Society ($75,000), the United States Gold Panning Association ($25,000) and a private individual ($10,000) to cover the cost and expenses of acquiring the building. Escrow closed on the sale of the building on April 29, 2021.
Until the upper floor (5,000 square feet) of the building is restored with a main assembly hall, conference room, reference library and the museum, the Board of Directors realized that a revenue stream was needed to fund ongoing expenses (insurance, utilities, maintenance, etc.). To that end, the Board of Directors dedicated a portion of the lower floor of 515 Main Street as a “Nonprofit Center” with the goal of providing affordable office space to El Dorado County nonprofit organizations to further assist each such organization in achieving their goals. As of this date, seven (of the eight) office suites have been leased, providing El Dorado Gold 1848 with a monthly income to cover our utilities and upkeep. This has allowed Board members to direct their efforts towards designing and obtaining grants for the creation of a first-class museum.
