Georgetown (formerly Growlersburg) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in

El Dorado County El Dorado County (), officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. The County is part of the Sacramento- Roseville-A ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is the northeasternmost town in the California Mother Lode. The population was 2,367 at the 2010 census, up from 962 in 2000. The town is registered as

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

#484.

History

Founded August 7, 1849, by George Phipps and party, Georgetown was nicknamed "Growlersburg" due to the heavy, gold-laden quartz rocks that "growled" in the miners' pants as they walked around town. Georgetown is named for George Phipps. The first post office was established in 1851. After a disastrous fire in 1852, the old town was moved from the canyon in lower Main Street to its present site, and, unique in early-day planning, Main Street was laid out wide, with side streets . After this new reconstruction, the residents of the city proclaimed their town as the "Pride of the Mountains". The hub of an immensely rich gold mining area, Georgetown had a population of about three thousand from 1854 to 1856. As a

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

camp, the community outlasted many other towns, because the gold found nearby was solid primary deposits, as opposed to

placer deposit In geology, a placer deposit or placer is an accumulation of valuable minerals formed by gravity separation from a specific source rock during sedimentary processes. The name is from the Spanish word ''placer'', meaning "alluvial sand". Placer mi ...

s. Gold production continued until after the turn of the 20th century.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which over 99% is land. For the 2000 census, the CDP's area was smaller. It had a total area of , of which was land and 0.24% was water.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Georgetown has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Georgetown had a population of 2,367. The population density was . The racial makeup of Georgetown was 2,128 (89.9%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 47 (2.0%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 59 (2.5%) Native American, 18 (0.8%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 2 (0.1%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 45 (1.9%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 68 (2.9%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 177 persons (7.5%). The Census reported that 2,239 people (94.6% of the population) lived in households, 14 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 114 (4.8%) were institutionalized. There were 913 households, out of which 242 (26.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 521 (57.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 66 (7.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 64 (7.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 46 (5.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 7 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 218 households (23.9%) were made up of individuals, and 97 (10.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45. There were 651

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

(71.3% of all households); the average family size was 2.82. The population was spread out, with 441 people (18.6%) under the age of 18, 181 people (7.6%) aged 18 to 24, 513 people (21.7%) aged 25 to 44, 809 people (34.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 423 people (17.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 111.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.7 males. There were 1,069 housing units at an average density of , of which 913 were occupied, of which 709 (77.7%) were owner-occupied, and 204 (22.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%. 1,689 people (71.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 550 people (23.2%) lived in rental housing units.

Politics

In the state legislature, Georgetown is in , and . Federally, Georgetown is in .

Education

The Black Oak Mine Unified School District, headquartered in Georgetown,Welcome to the Black Oak Mine Unified School District
." Black Oak Mine Unified School District. Retrieved on October 27, 2010. serves Georgetown.Home page
Black Oak Mine Unified School District. July 20, 2002. Retrieved on October 27, 2010.

Notable people

Ferris Fain Ferris Roy Fain (March 29, 1921 – October 18, 2001) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1955. A five-time All-Star, Fain won two American League batting championship ...

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in El Dorado County, California California Historical Landmarks Populated places established in 1849 1849 establishments in California Census-designated places in California