The children of Long Valley School, Placer County, 1890

This photo from the Placer County Museums is full of personalities who once inhabited Long Valley, with a population of around 60. We see kids from the school enjoying their lunch around the school well. The teacher, looking very professorial, is enjoying a drink of that cool Long Valley water.

The fun is taking a closer look at the photo and the kids. You’ve got the older boys looking mischievous at the right while numerous younger kids look like they will burst out laughing at any moment. Be sure to check out the old-school lunch/water buckets.

One resident of Long Valley, born in 1893, was Clark Ashton Smith, writer and artist most famous for his fantasy writing along the vein of H. P. Lovecraft. You can read more about Smith here.

Long Valley was located on the Auburn Sacramento Road, a mile or so south of Auburn. Leaving Long Valley heading south on Rattlesnake Bar Road, you would have crossed the old Rattlesnake Bar Bridge, which we have written about before. Long Valley School still stands at the corner of Auburn Folsom Road and Rattlesnake Bar Road and is used as a community hall.

I’ve posted a map, The Georgetown Divide in 1873, and marked where the town was. To see the complete map go here.

1873 Map showing Long Valley and the Rattlesnake Bar Bridge site, Click map for closer view.

Greenwood, El Dorado County school and playground, 1953

Above is a Paul L. Henchey photograph taken in June 1953 that shows the old Greenwood schoolhouse, which is still standing today. You can find the location on the map at the bottom of the post.

When you hear from the elders about how dangerous and fun old playground equipment was, this is a prime example. The merry-go-round looks to be an advanced version of other merry-grounds that did not tip. With the conventional merry-go-round, kids would propel themselves using their feet to gain speed as the contraption spun around, throwing off those who couldn’t hold on!

This merry-go-round not only spins but seems to tilt, adding to the g-forces and making it even harder to hold on. You can zoom in on the photo to get a better view.

My question for those who remember this is, how was it propelled? Does it look like there may be a handle in the center used to tilt it or propel it? Was this powered by the kid’s feet like the non-tilting versions? You can see two children playing tetherball behind the merry-go-round. A lone dog stands at the entrance.

Map showing location and features. Click the map for a larger view.

Green Valley Road History Tour, Part 2

We continue our Green Valley Road history tour, Part 2. We are now on Malcolm-Dixon Road, which was the old route before the re-alignment of Green Valley Road. Just after turning onto Malcolm-Dixon Road, we come to the site of an old roadhouse named "New York." The New York House, located on the south side of the road near New York Creek, has quite the history.

The information for the New York House comes from Doug Noble's Green Valley Road history. The New York House, owned by Constantine Hicks, a carpenter from Vermont, had quite a reputation having been involved in a scandal concerning election fraud, as well as trying to claim "squatters rights" on 640 acres of surrounding land. He was defeated in part by the Central Pacific Railroad, which owned land intended for the transcontinental railroad, which eventually passed through Placer County to the north.

The story of Constantine Hicks gets brutal after this when his daughter eloped with a "hired hand." Hicks and friends overtook the man at the Rolling Hills house down the hill, horsewhipped him to death, then took the body back to the New York house and buried him on a hill across the road.

Live Oak School.

Continuing our journey, we come to the Live Oak School, which is still standing! The photograph at the top of the page shows the 1895-96 class with the teacher, Miss Donovan. L-R front row: Pete Leik, Annie Hughes(later Mrs. Louis Mettie), John Hughes, Frank Koffman, ___ Courtamarsh, &___Courtamarsh. 2nd row: Luke Avery, Maggie Hughes, Annie Leik, Lizzy Ricker, Lilly Orr, Cora Avery, Kitty Ricker, MamieGrace, and the teacher Miss Donavon.

The area around the schoolhouse has been approved for development by the county, with 2.2 acres around the school, as well as the building being preserved for history, while the rest will be developed.

The Green Valley Road History Tour

We now head up the old road where it will eventually lead us back to Green Valley Road, where we will turn left and head up the hill and the site of the Green Spring House, located on the south side (right side as your driving) of Green Valley Road, on a old alignment of the road. The Green Springs House was built by Rufus Hitchcock, who would run the place until 1851 when he died of smallpox. William Dormody ran it until he died in 1876 when his widow Sarah F. Dormody took it over. According to history, it was a favorite place to hold weddings.

Take Green-Valley Road towards Rescue, and our next stop on our tour, Deer Valley Road. We will discuss that in part 3 of our Green Valley Road history tour.

Tour map found here.

Placer Garage, Lincoln Highway, Auburn

Beautiful photograph looking west on High Street and Lincoln Way. We are close to the turn of the century here, as we see hoses and wagons still in use, along with an automobile and motorcycle. Like many of these older photos, the fun is in the details.

At the far left, upper part of the photo, we can see the High School, with a dome, in the background. Built-in 1906, the dome was made of tin and leaked so severely the school removed it 1916. The high school dome is a great way to help date these photos. The Congregational Church is the lower left, end of the street.

Moving to the foreground, we see the ever-present advertisement for Wrigley’s Chewing Gum. This advertisement shows up in other photos of Auburn. I’m interested to know what the connection is between Auburn and Wrigley’s. Three men sit in an automobile in front of the Placer Garage. Their motto? “The shop that merits your trade.” A man holds an “Indian” motorcycle, I assume, as the garage advertises Indian Motorcycles in their window. The carriages further down sit in front of the “Telephone Office.”

Photos from: Placer County Museums.