Virginiatown, California

Unincorporated community in California, United States

38°54′02″N 121°12′53″W / 38.90056°N 121.21472°W / 38.90056; -121.21472Country

United StatesState

CaliforniaCountyPlacer CountyElevation

^[1]

322 ft (98 m)

California Historical Landmark

Reference no.400

Virginiatown (formerly, Virginia)^[2] is a former settlement in Placer County, California.^[1] Virginiatown is located on Auburn Ravine, 7.5 miles (12.1 km) west of Auburn.^[2]

Virginiatown is California Historical Landmark #400.^[3] The town was the site of one of California's first railroads, built in 1852 to carry gold ore from the mines to Auburn Ravine.^[4] After the first wave of gold mining ended, wood-cutting became an important local industry, to support railroad construction and to fuel the kiln at the pottery mill in nearby Lincoln. A large number of Chinese miners moved into the area around this time and reworked the diggings;^[5] the white residents voted to expel the Chinese from town in 1860, claiming a "fire hazard", and the Chinese resettled just west of town.^[6] A Chinese temple stood outside Virginiatown as late as 1907,^[7] and two rammed-earth Chinese houses were still standing as of 1957.^[8]

The site of Virginiatown is now occupied by rural homes and small farms.

References

^ ^a ^b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Virginiatown, California
^ ^a ^b Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 572. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
^ "Virginatown". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
^ Whittle, Syd (2016). "Virginiatown Historical Marker". HMDb.org. Historical Marker Database. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
^ Janssen, Jim (July 16, 1965). "Gold Era revisited". The Press-Tribune. Roseville, CA. Retrieved December 25, 2023.(subscription required)
^ Jordan, Michael J. (May 16, 1993). "Chinese mining site worth its weight in gold". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, CA. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
^ Janssen 1965.
^ Richardson, Donald M. (February 25, 1957). "Lincoln C of C seeks to restore historic building". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, CA. Retrieved December 25, 2023.