Elizabethtown, California was a

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

town that began in 1852 in

Plumas County, California Plumas County () is a county in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,790. The county seat is Quincy, and the only incorporated city is Portola. The largest community in the county is ...

. It was named after a woman in the miners camp called Elizabeth Stark Blakesley.Elizabethtown Pioneer Trails 1927 Monument Speech - 79.29 (29th submission submitted to county museum in 1979) - Plumas County Museum It is said that the value of gold taken from the Elizabethtown area ran into the millions of dollars. It was started from other

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface ...

camps all around American Valley (where

Quincy, CA Quincy (formerly, Quinsy) is a census-designated place and the county seat of Plumas County, California. The population was 1,630 during the 2020 Census, down from 1,728 during the 2010 Census, and 1,879 during the 2000 Census. History Quincy ...

is now located). In 1852, a 10 to 15 family wagon train came up Beckwourth Pass (which was created by

James Beckwourth James Pierson Beckwourth (born Beckwith, April 26, 1798 or 1800 – October 29, 1866 or 1867), was an American mountain man, fur trader, and explorer. Beckwourth was known as "Bloody Arm" because of his skill as a fighter. He was mixed-race and ...

, the first pioneer to this area). They brought a large supply of

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

s, oxen,

cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

, and other needed supplies and were the first settlers of American Valley. When they got there, they found a population of hundreds of

Maidu The Maidu are a Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather and American rivers. They also reside in Humbug Valley. In Maiduan languages, ''Maidu'' means "man." ...

Indians, who were peaceful and friendly. In 1852 Alexander and Frank Tate discovered gold in what is known as Tate ravine. After that, Lewis Stark, Peter Day, and George Ferrier one morning went up Elizabeth ravine and by noon they panned out an ounce of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

. After dinner they found several ounces using a rocker. After digging a small ditch, they discovered one 28 ounce gold piece. After that many

miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

came to search for gold which developed into a village. Later on Elizabethtown was also known as Betysburg after a rivalry started with Quincy. The winter of 1852 and 1853 were very harsh with low provisions. So the spring of 1853 the Stark family went to

Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...

and hauled up many cattle for beef for the starving families. In 1854 a

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

was built there. Also in 1854 Elizabethtown got postal service with Lewis Stark as

Postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

. W.A. Blakesley was the Deputy and used his house as the office. In January 1855 the postal service was moved to Quincy. The rich mining claims of 1853 and 1854 were: The Wahoo, by Joseph Kelley & Co.; Fowler, by Fowler & Co.; Varner, by Varner & Co.; Plumas, by L.F. Cate & Co.; O'Neill, by Captain O'Neill; Gloyd, by D.J. Gloyd; and Betsy Guilch, by Stark & Co. The Population of Elizabethtown got up around 2000 and 2500 people between 1853 and 1856. The first year over 30 county licenses were issued for business in the area. The Main Street extended across the entire town. There were many stores, two-story buildings,

saloons Saloon may refer to: Buildings and businesses * One of the bars in a traditional British pub * An alternative name for a bar (establishment) * Western saloon, a historical style of American bar * The Saloon, a bar and music venue in San Francisc ...

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

houses, shops,

gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

palaces,

lodging Lodging refers to the use of a short-term dwelling, usually by renting the living space or sometimes through some other arrangement. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging for sleep, rest, food, safety, shel ...

houses, and eating houses. They also had a lodge for the Sons Of Temperance (see

Temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

) which had over 200 members. In 1857 and 1858 there was some demoralization within the town with the Comstock mines in Virginia City, Nevada (see

Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the United ...

). Many residents ended up living in Indian and Honey Lake valleys. Many buildings were moved to Quincy and rebuilt there and slowly the town dissolved into history. After the "New Year's Flood" in January, 1997, a local resident discovered the cobblestone corner of a foundation had been exposed by the high water flow through the creek bed. The former

excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

of the brick foundation has been covered over and no longer are visible.Plumas County Museum http://www.plumasmuseum.org/ There is a stone and metal monument to the town by the Native Sons and Daughters of Quincy on September 9, 1927.

References

External links

Plumas County Museum
{{authority control Former settlements in Plumas County, California Mining communities of the California Gold Rush California Historical Landmarks History of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Quincy, California Populated places established in 1852 1852 establishments in California Former populated places in California