The birth of Prairie City, Sacramento County, was announced in the pages of The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper in June of 1853. Located 21 miles from the City of Sacramento, it was approximately 2 miles south of Negro Bar, now known as Folsom. By that month, 40 frame and canvas houses had been erected and a water ditch for mining purposes was being constructed by the Natoma Water and Mining Company.
By July 4th, the town had 1500 inhabitants, including 15 families with women and children. Shortly thereafter, a mining district was formed to establish the "rules" for the miners, and later the area was designated as an election precinct.
Placer deposits began to diminish in 1854 and many of the miners and their families began to move away. Still, others stayed as they had established their homes and families in that vicinity. The U.S. Post Office closed its doors in early March 1866. By the mid-1870s, little of the original town remained, though the school district continued until about the mid-1880s.
As late as 1901, the abandoned townsite was still referred to as Prairie City, though few remained there.
In Memoriam
Here lie the remains of twelve souls discovered during the construction of the Prairie City Road and Highway 50 interchange in May of 1997. They were relocated to this spot by the California Department of Transportation with the cooperation of The County of El Dorado. Through their efforts, with the assistance of the Folsom Historical Society and El Dorado County Pioneer Cemetery Commission, these twelve deceased may now rest in peace forever.
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