Coloma (

Nisenan The Nisenan are a group of Native Americans and an Indigenous people of California from the Yuba River and American River watersheds in Northern California and the California Central Valley. The Nisenan people are classified as part of the lar ...

: ''Cullumah'', meaning "beautiful") is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 count ...

in El Dorado County, California, US. It is approximately northeast of

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. Coloma is most noted for being the site where James W. Marshall found gold in the Sierra Nevada foothills, at

Sutter's Mill Sutter's Mill was a water-powered sawmill on the bank of the South Fork American River in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California. It was named after its owner John Sutter. A worker constructing the mill, James W. Marshall, found gol ...

on January 24, 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush. Coloma's population is 529. The settlement is a tourist attraction known for its

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

and the centerpiece of the

Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park is a state park of California, United States, marking the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in 1848, sparking the California Gold Rush. The park grounds include much of the histo ...

. Coloma was designated a

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

on July 4, 1961. and It lies at an elevation of 764 feet (233 m).

Etymology

The name comes from the

Indian name for the valley in which Coloma is located: ''Cullumah'', meaning 'beautiful.' Coloma is on the

South Fork American River The South Fork American River is a major tributary of the American River in El Dorado County, California, draining a watershed on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada east of Sacramento. The river begins in pristine Desolation Wilderness and fl ...

that runs through the valley and was built on the original Indian village of Koloma. Former spellings include "Colluma" and "Culloma"..

History

Coloma grew around Sutter's Mill following the finding of gold. A post office was established in 1849 under the name Culloma, changing to Coloma in 1851. One of Coloma's earliest settlers was

Silas Sanderson Silas Woodruff Sanderson (April 16, 1824 – June 24, 1886) was the seventh Chief Justice of California. Biography Born in Sandgate, Vermont, Sanderson attended Burr Seminary, Williams College, and Union College, graduating from the last in ...

(1824–1886), who went on to become the 7th Chief Justice of California. Another was Nancy Gooch, who was one of the first black women to succeed in California.

Ghost town

While some people still live in the area, Coloma is considered something of a ghost town because civic buildings such as the jail have been abandoned and left to decay, and other buildings from its boom era (1847–1852) have been converted into museums and other historical displays. The tailrace of Sutter's Mill remains, as does a nearby reconstruction. In reality the meaningfulness of the township of Coloma has dissipated as residents who live in the wider Coloma Valley area generally share a community spirit. The local economy is based predominantly on agriculture and tourism. Of particular note is the rafting industry as the South Fork American River is one of the most popular white-water trips in North America.

Demographics

James Marshall cabin in Coloma California

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 servi ...

reported that Coloma had a population of 529. The population density was . The racial makeup of Coloma was 462 (87.3%)

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 ...

, 4 (0.8%)

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 ...

, 3 (0.6%) Native American, 8 (1.5%)

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 ...

, 0 (0.0%)

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 ...

, 15 (2.8%) 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 37 (7.0%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 63 people (11.9%). The Census reported that 429 people (93.6% of the population) lived in households, 34 (6.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 216 households, out of which 44 (20.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 116 (53.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 14 (6.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 10 (4.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 22 (10.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 51 households (23.6%) were made up of individuals, and 20 (9.3%) had someone living alone. The average household size was 2.29. There were 140

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 ...

(64.8% of all households); the average family size was 2.64. The population was spread out, with 69 people (13.0%) under the age of 18, 31 people (5.9%) aged 18 to 24, 127 people (24.0%) aged 25 to 44, 200 people (37.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 102 people (19.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.1 males. There were 251 housing units at an average density of , of which 216 were occupied, of which 153 (70.8%) were owner-occupied and 63 (29.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 12.5%. 355 people (67.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units, and 140 people (26.5%) lived in rental housing units.

Politics

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

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, Coloma 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.

Sister cities

* Clunes, Australia

Notable people

* Nancy Gooch

References

External links

* * * * * * * * *
Local visitor's guide
{{authority control California Gold Rush Census-designated places in El Dorado County, California Ghost towns in California Mining communities of the California Gold Rush Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Historic Landmarks in California National Register of Historic Places in El Dorado County, California Former county seats in California Historic American Buildings Survey in California Populated places established in 1849 1849 establishments in California Census-designated places in California Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in California