Ophir, California
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Ophir (also, Spanish Corral and Ophirville) is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in
Placer County Placer County ( ; ''Placer'', Spanish language, Spanish for "sand deposit"), officially the County of Placer, is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Ophir is located west of Auburn. It lies at an elevation of 682 feet (208 m). Ophir addresses have the ZIP code of 95658, a Newcastle address.


History

Ophir was a
boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although t ...
of the
California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) 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 from the rest of the U ...
. Originally named ''The Spanish Corral'' in 1849, Ophir received its Biblical name
Ophir Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. Its existence is attested to by an inscribed pottery shard found at Tell Qasile (in modern-day Tel Aviv) in 1946, dating to the eighth century BC, which reads "''go ...
, the source of King Solomon's treasures, in 1850 because of the rich gold
placer mining Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer mining is frequently used for precious metal deposits (particularly ...
in the area. In 1852 it was the center of the local gold mining industry, and the most populous town in the county. It grew to over 500 families by 1853, when a disastrous fire on the 12th of July destroyed the whole town. The town was not rebuilt at the time. Later Ophir became the center of quartz mining in the county. It is remembered at
California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...
#463. The Ophirville post office was open by 1852 and closed in 1866. The Ophir post office opened in 1872 and closed in 1910. After the gold rush, the area was planted in vineyards and orchards, and during
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
just in orchards. Beginning in the 1970s vineyards again returned to the area. Today, local services for Ophir come from Auburn.


References


External links


"Ophir, Placer County, California" ''California Genealogy''


Unincorporated communities in Placer County, California Mining communities of the California Gold Rush Ghost towns in California Populated places established in 1849 1849 establishments in California Unincorporated communities in California {{PlacerCountyCA-geo-stub