Yank's Station

Meyers (also Yanks, Yank's Station, and Tahoe Paradise) is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in El Dorado County, California, United States, along U.S. Route 50 in the northern Sierra Nevada. It is south of South Lake Tahoe in the Lake Tahoe area and lies at an elevation of . Established in 1851, Meyers started out as a stagecoach stop, trading post and Pony Express station. The town is now registered as California Historical Landmark #708. It serves as a popular stop on the way into and out of the Tahoe Basin for travelers on Highway 50 and Highway 89.

History

Martin Smith, the town founder, opened a trading post and inn on the Placerville-Carson Road in 1851. Eight years later, Ephraim "Yank" Clement and his wife Lydia purchased the station and outbuildings from Smith and George Douglas, who had run the station as a hostelry and stagecoach stop. The Clements enlarged the station into a three-story, fourteen-room way station which included a large stable and hay barn with large corrals across the road.

The station served as a Pony Express stop up until October 26, 1861. Upon completion of the wagon road over Kingsbury Grade, the Pony Express route continued from Mormon (Genoa) Station to Friday's Station and then along the south shore of Lake Tahoe, stopping at Yank's Station Toll House near Myers (original spelling) on U.S. 50. It then continued on to Strawberry Station. A USGS topographic map from 1891 shows Yanks near present-day Camp Richarson. Meyers was its own distinct locale.

With both a trading post and a hotel, the station also served as a stage stop. The toll house was pushed off its foundation by floodwaters and is now situated on blocks next to the Tahoe Paradise Museum. In 1873, George Henry Dudley Meyers purchased the property. The newly rebuilt station thrived for decades as a hotel and store. On November 25, 1938, the building was destroyed in the Meyers town fire.

Earlier (in 1904), a post office opened south of the station. The post office closed in 1957, only to reopen in 1958. It was adjacent to the Lincoln Highway Sierra Nevada Southern Route by 1916, and was renamed Tahoe Paradise in 1962. By 1896, a railroad had been connected that ran up Lake Valley from a landing in Bijou.

On June 10, 1991, Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped in the community. She was confined for 18 years in Antioch, California, and was found alive in 2009 in Berkeley.

Climate

Demographics

Meyers first appeared as a census designated place in the 2020 U.S. Census

2020 Census

Amenities

Meyers has one grocery store, Holiday Market, a hardware shop and lumber yard, Meeks, and multiple other restaurants and shops. There is a California Highway Patrol station near the south end, along with an insect inspection station and a post office. The nearest major city center is to the north along U.S. Highway 50 at an intersection that is known locally as "The Y" in South Lake Tahoe proper.

Climbing

Meyers is located 20 minutes from Lovers Leap campground and climbing area. Meyers also has its own local climbing areas, including the Pie Shop on Sawmill Road. Pie Shop houses a bouldering area right off the road and a sport and trade climbing area up a short hike.

Notes

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Unincorporated communities in California
Unincorporated communities in El Dorado County, California
Unincorporated communities in the Sacramento metropolitan area
California Historical Landmarks
South Lake Tahoe, California
Pony Express stations
Lincoln Highway
Populated places established in 1851