El Dorado - Nevada House

El Dorado County August 29, 1993


They were supposed to get started at midnight on that early morning of April 13, 1860, as Sam Hamilton and his first horse waited in a cold Sacramento rain for the steamer to bring the mail he carry on the inaugural east bound run for the Pony Express. It got there about 3:30, and Sam was off at full speed in the darkness. Remount stations were set up along the way and due the ascent up the western slope of the Sierras, they were closer together, often set at five miles. With that in mind we’ve come five miles up Highway 50 along what you might consider a ‘business loop’ on earlier roads to our next landmark. Through El Dorado and Diamond Springs we’ll get to Placerville and Coloma.

You’d think El Dorado would be the county seat for El Dorado County, but the action is in Placerville and the town of El Dorado after a raucous start has been unincorporated since 1857. There are about 4500 people in and around town today.

It seems a little confusing but don’t mistake Nevada House for Sierra Nevada House further up state highway 49 near Coloma.

Plaque inscription: NO. 700 EL DORADO-NEVADA HOUSE (MUD SPRINGS) -OVERLAND PONY EXPRESS ROUTE IN CALIFORNIA - Trading post, emigrant stop, and mining camp of the 1850s, this became one of the remount stations of the Central Overland Pony Express. On April 13, 1860, pony rider William (Sam) Hamilton changed horses here at the Nevada House while carrying the first westbound mail of the Pony Express from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento.
Location:

6191 Pleasant Valley Rd

near

Church St, El Dorado

Google maps: 38.682545,-120.848547