The Paranormal & Ghost Society

FOLSOM, Calif. (KCRA) —A Folsom town has been submerged under Folsom Lake since 1955, but now with little rain or snow runoff, the water levels have dropped enough for the foundations of some buildings to re-emerge.

The town known as Mormon Island grew out of a Mormon settlement on a sandbar along the American River in gold rush days.

View photos of the Mormon Island ruins at Folsom Lake.

Mormon Island thrived during mining years with as many as 2,500 people, complete with four hotels, a school and seven saloons, according to some historical accounts.

Now, stone walls from the foundation of some of the outer-lying areas have been revealed by the shrinking lake.

Dozens of people hiked past dry boat docks and a muddy marina Saturday to get to the area, bringing their cameras and their dogs for the walk.

"It's actually a little disconcerting because, you know, this is our water supply," said Emily Fife. "And it's not really full."

Visitors can still make out the footprint of buildings believed to be a dairy and a winery that once stood in the hills above the town, along with the winding Natomas canal -- a ditch lined by tree stumps.

"I'm wondering at this point now if it's going to remain uncovered," said Monty Mattox. "Because it doesn't sound like we're going to get any rain soon."

Rusty nails are scattered among rocks and debris. Sightseers have been placing rusty springs, glass fragments and other objects on the tree stumps.

Park rangers said it is illegal to damage or disturb archaeological sites. It's also against state law to remove items from a state park.

Much of the town is still under about 90 feet of water, according to some estimates.

There were few people living in that particular town when the Folsom Dam was built. The area was intentionally flooded with water in 1955 to create Folsom Lake.

GRANITE BAY, Calif. — Historically low waters levels in Northern California's Folsom Lake have exposed the remains of a Gold Rush-era mining town flooded decades ago.

Remnants of the town of Mormon Island have been uncovered by the lake's receding waters, drawing people out to the lakebed in search of artifacts, The Sacramento Bee reported.

In the 1800s, Mormon Island had a population of 2,500, but it dwindled to a few families by the 1940s.

The town founded by Mormon prospectors during the Mexican War once had four hotels, dry goods and other stores, and seven saloons.

Gold was discovered by members of the Mormon Battalion, who stayed in the area at the confluence of the north and south forks of the American River to continue prospecting.

So far, people have found rock-lined foundations, old glass, a doorknob and rusty nails. More items were expected to be exposed as the water continues receding.

Richard Preston of the California State Parks system says people are welcome to look at the remains, but that both state and federal laws prohibit the taking of artifacts.

"Our primary concern is the safety of the resource and to make sure people aren't carting off the history," he told the Bee.

Folsom Lake’s decline exposes Gold Rush history

Call The Bee’s Ed Fletcher, (916) 321-1269. Follow him on Twitter @NewsFletch.

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After the Gold Rush: Long-lost California town famous for housing prospectors re-emerges after 60 YEARS underwater

Mormon Island was established in 1848 after prospectors struck upon gold in nearby Coloma
At its peak, it was home to 2,500 residents seeking riches in the region

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 12:52 EST, 30 December 2013 | Updated: 09:29 EST, 31 December 2013

A long-lost Gold Rush town that had been submerged beneath a lake has been revealed its secrets for the first time in 60 years.

December has been one of the driest months ever recorded in California, causing a huge drop in water levels at Folsom Lake and revealed the remnants of the town of Mormon Island.

The town was set up in 1848 after prospectors struck upon gold in nearby Coloma. At its peak, it was home to 2,500 Mormon immigrants seeking riches in the region.

It reportedly had four hotels, a school and seven saloons during the boom times but after the wealth ran out, only a few families were left by the 1940s.

Mormon Island, which is a California Historical Landmark, came into view for the first time in 60 years due to the recent dry spell.

The stone foundations of the town are now visible along with piles of rusty, square-headed nails, tool parts and broken bottles.

Along the waterfront are crumbling, stone foundations which are believed to have been the sites of a winery and a dairy. A portion of a stone water well is also now visible.

'It's kind of sad that they knocked out a lot of these towns but they had to do it.'

Park rangers encouraged people to come visit but warned not to touch anything as Mormon Lake is a protected landmark.

The dry weather is spurring some cities and counties in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region to issue water conservation orders earlier than usual.

The city of Folsom has already imposed a mandatory 20-per cent water conservation order, while Sacramento County has asked residents in unincorporated areas to reduce water use by 20 per cent.

The cities of Roseville and Sacramento are also likely to consider similar measures in early January.

If no rain falls in the remaining days of 2013, it could rank as the driest calendar year in state history.

While a drought has not been declared by Governor Jerry Brown, he has assembled a task force to monitor and study the issue.

The long running drought in the West has helped uncover ghost towns and other pieces of history from receding lakes. WSJ's Jim Carlton reports. (Photo: Max Whittaker/Prime for The Wall Street Journal)

EL DORADO HILLS, Calif.—A severe drought plaguing much of the West is also bringing bits of its past back to life, as long-submerged historic artifacts and natural features are exposed by receding lake levels.

Near this Sacramento suburb, man-made Folsom Lake has receded to less than one-fifth of its capacity amid bone-dry conditions in California, recently revealing outskirts of a ghost town called Mormon Island founded during the mid-19th century gold rush. On an unseasonably warm winter day recently, throngs of visitors descended on the cracked mud flats of the reservoir to inspect hand-forged nails, rusted hinges and other vestiges of frontier life that were inundated when the lake was created in 1955.

"A piece of history from that long ago just blows me away," said Kari McCoy, a 50-year-old local real-estate agent, after inspecting the stone foundation of an old milking barn.

California is entering its third year of drought, while much of the West has been abnormally dry for more than a decade. In recent days, both California Gov. Jerry Brown and the federal government have declared drought emergencies. State and federal officials are calling for some drastic measures to address the California drought.

On Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) announced support for legislation proposed by some fellow Republicans that would suspend salmon-protection efforts in parts of the state to provide more water for agriculture. The measure is opposed by many Democrats and salmon-advocacy groups.

As water levels recede, the past has emerged. Texas's Lake Buchanan shrank in 2011 to reveal the original site of the town of Bluffton, drawing visitors to the remains of homesteads, a store and cotton gin that had been mostly under water since the reservoir was created in 1937, said Alfred Hallmark, a local historian. The town is one of more than 200 archaeological sites in Texas, including cemeteries, that have been uncovered by drought, said Pat Mercado-Allinger, director of the Texas Historical Commission's archaeology division.

In Utah, the decline of Lake Powell on the Colorado River to less than half its capacity in the past decade has uncovered artifacts including Native American ruins known as Fort Moki by 19th century pioneers. It has also restored some natural features, such as a towering waterfall called Cathedral in the Desert, that had been buried when the federal government dammed the river to create the giant reservoir in the 1960s.

"I never thought in my lifetime I would see it," said Jo Johnson, co-director of environmental group River Runners for Wilderness, after a recent canoe trip to the waterfall. "You just get real sad it was ever covered up in the first place."

The shrinking water levels at these sites have created some new problems. One issue is public safety. For example, the decline of Nevada's Lake Mead, the reservoir created by the Hoover Dam, has created a potentially dangerous rafting current on the Colorado River called Pearce Ferry Rapid, said Roy Webb, a multimedia archivist at the University of Utah. Mr. Webb also said newly exposed cliffs above Lake Powell pose a threat to boaters. Long saturated by water, they are more prone to avalanche, he said.

Another concern is looting and vandalism at the resurrected sites. After St. Thomas, Nev., was uncovered by the retreat of Lake Mead about 10 years ago, federal officials had to erect a gate and close the area at night to protect attractions such as the remains of a hotel where President Herbert Hoover is believed to have stayed, said Steve Daron, cultural resource manager for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The former mining town, which peaked at about 500 residents after it was established in 1865, was inundated in the 1930s when the reservoir was created, Mr. Daron said.

At Folsom Lake in Northern California, a gold rush-era community called Red Bank has re-emerged over the past few weeks on the outskirts of the larger town of Mormon Island, which remains under water. The exposed ruins have drawn thousands of visitors and created an enforcement headache for the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area. One threat has come from treasure hunters wielding metal detectors, prompting the state agency to hurriedly adopt rules against their use, said Richard Preston, the lake's superintendent.

While violations carry a fine, Folsom rangers have been more inclined to issue warnings so far. Ranger Karsten Banz on a recent day issued warnings to four people he found using metal detectors to search for coins, rings and other buried artifacts. "We mainly want to educate people," Mr. Banz said.

Most visitors, though, seem content wandering the ruins of this settlement, listening to docents such as Bob Blair explain how Mormon Island came into being in the mid-1800s when three Mormon pioneers founded a gold-rush community that grew to 2,500 residents before the original pioneers moved on. Red Bank was settled about the same time about a mile away. "The Mormon history here was brief, bright and they were gone," said Mr. Blair, a warehouse manager from Citrus Heights, Calif., who wore a broad sombrero and other period dress to portray one of the pioneers.

Like most towns inundated by reservoirs, building frames were removed and trees chopped down in Red Bank to remove possible boating hazards, said Jenifer Padgett, an associate state archaeologist. But the outline of the town is still apparent, in such remnants as the foundation of an early 20th century winery, its cellar partially intact, and an old water canal whose route is marked by the stumps of trees that flanked it.

Some visitors are using the stumps to display found objects, including spring coils and the arms of an old doll, for others to see. While Ms. Padgett said archaeological sites are best left undisturbed, she added that being able to see these outskirts of Mormon Island helps historians learn more about early California life.

"This is providing us an opportunity to study things we could not before," she said.

Write to Jim Carlton at jim.carlton@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications
Red Bank is the gold rush-era community that has re-emerged at California's Folsom Lake. In an earlier version of this article, the name of the town in a couple of instances was incorrectly given as Red Bluff.

From the Depths: History resurfaces as lake level falls

Mormon Island was one of several communities flooded by Folsom Lake

By: Don Chaddock, The Telegraph

Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part series on the history of the Mormon Island area, which is resurfacing due to the drought. Every decade or so, when a drought causes the levels of Folsom Lake to drop, the area’s rich mining and agriculture heritage begin to resurface in the form of foundations and partial rock walls, and the phone rings at the home of an elderly Folsom woman. Artie May Davies, 94, is no stranger to news reporters seeking information when the remnants of what was once the Red Bank community resurface. Often mistaken for the more well-known Mormon Island, Red Bank was a mine, winery and eventually a dairy. A few other orchards and ranches were also located nearby. Mormon Island was located about a mile downriver and is where she was raised, she said. The bits of rock, brick and foundations emerging from the lake were once home to Davies and her late husband, Bud. The area was flooded in the early 1950s when Folsom Dam was completed. Artie moved to Mormon Island in 1920, at the age of 6. Sitting in her Natoma Street home, she recalls how she ended up in the settlement along the south fork of the American River. “My father was headed to Oregon and we camped at that grove of eucalyptus trees (near Folsom),” she said. “He decided he needed a haircut and went into Folsom to the barbershop. There he talked to a man about where we were heading and the man said, ‘Oh, don’t go to Oregon. I just came from there and there’s no work there.’ He told my father about the river so we ended up in Mormon Island. We camped a few weeks until he found a place to live.” Her modest Folsom home is a piece of history as well. “This house is from there,” said her son, Jim, thumping the kitchen table with his finger. Artie told the story to the Telegraph during a drought 20 years ago. During that interview, she was able to visit the Red Bank site with the reporter and photographer. “Bud moved the house we now live in from the Ranch into Folsom,” Artie told the Folsom Telegraph in the 1988 article. “In fact, it is the house that we bought when we moved to Green Valley Road.” Artie and Bud first lived in a house on Green Valley Road, near what is now The Purple Place. When they moved to Red Bank, her husband brought the house with them. When asked about her home, she smiles and recounts the story again, aided briefly by her son. “You could never tell Bud that he couldn’t do something because then he would just do it to prove that he could,” she said. “This house has been moved three times. He also moved the house next to us here.” The smaller house located next door was once occupied by her parents, she said. Bud passed away on June 20, 1983. They had been married since 1932. The construction, and flooding of the area, didn’t just claim Mormon Island, but many other communities and historic mining sites, according to a Sept. 29, 1950 newspaper clipping provided by the Folsom Historical Society. “The sites of 20 pioneer communities will be flooded by the waters impounded by the Folsom dam and (there is a movement) to (place) a monument in the public area at the dam,” the article states. George Townsend, a native of Mormon Island, is quoted in the news report. “We shouldn’t just let the waters cover them up and let the people of the future forget about them,” he said at the time. According to the 1950 article, there were three communities in Sacramento County facing destruction caused by the dam -- Mormon Island, Red Bank and Maple Ridge. Placer County lost Bean, Poker Bar, Cartonville, Doton’s Bar and Horseshoe Bar. They certainly aren’t forgotten, if the 1988 Telegraph story is any indication. Published on Nov. 16 of that year, the report claims the settlement had resurfaced once before. “This is the second time that the community of Mormon Island has greeted the sun,” the article states. “Visitors last walked the ruins during the 1977-1978 drought.” And now, 20 years after Artie visited the site with the Telegraph, she sits at a small table, surrounded by photographs, newspaper clippings and drawings of the former town, once again recounting her life there. Her former homestead was once owned by Henry Mette who planted grapes and ran a winery out of the area after his mine petered out. He built a wine cellar in 1872, according to a March 31, 1966 Folsom Telegraph article. At its peak, the Red Bank Winery manufactured 40,000 gallons of wine and 7,000 gallons of brandy annually. The winery ruins are still underwater, according to Artie’s son, Jim, who recently visited the site. The stone and concrete foundation of a large barn, a house and other structures are clearly visible at the site near Browns Ravine. The barn holds a special place in Artie’s heart. “That was the most wonderful place for Bud and me,” she said. “It’s a big barn and everything. It had a big hayloft that covered the top of the barn that had hardwood floors. Every Saturday night, we had a dance at our barn. We had a piano player and a man who played guitar.” When some of those dances became too rowdy, she said they stopped having them. “People would come from all over. First they’d visit the saloon,” she said. As far as the actual town of Mormon Island resurfacing, Jim said that’s not likely. “It will never happen. It’s under a couple hundred feet of water,” he said. Remnants such as old nails, horseshoes, shovels, axes and the like can be found along the shoreline, but it is a crime to remove them, which Artie doesn’t understand. “I don’t know why not,” she said. “Some of them may never come back out again.” She said her daughter couldn’t take any souvenirs from the site. “My daughter went out (last year) and you could see the barn and where all the houses were,” she said. Artie, who is now almost blind, said the last time she saw the place was when she accompanied a Sacramento Bee reporter out to the site. “It was several years ago,” she said. “It’s a long way to walk, but I certainly have lots of good memories.” IF YOU GO Take Natoma Street in Folsom to Green Valley Road. Turn left at Sophia Parkway into the parking area (there is a nominal fee) near Mormon Island Auxiliary Dam. Walk over the dam and head between and over the two hills on the right. Ruins are about a half mile away. Some recommend taking the Brown's Ravine entrance, but you must cross a creek and walk longer to reach the site. If you choose this route, enter the Brown's Ravine Recreation Area and head directly to the last parking area all the way to the back. Walk down and cross the creek. Across from this is remnants of the old Natoma Ditch (read part two of the series)and follow it to the Red Bank ruins. You will also pass ruins of another structure before you reach Red Bank.

The remains of a 155-year-old water delivery system are emerging from the murky waters of Folsom Lake and for some former residents the old canals and ditches are bringing back memories. In 1851, Amos P. Catlin and a few others organized a loose association of mining companies to supply water to the miners, wineries and ranches springing up along the banks of the South Fork of the American River, according to materials supplied by the Folsom History Museum. By 1853, the Natoma Company had constructed 16 miles of canals and ditches to divert water from the river, particularly from upriver at the Salmon Falls area, and carry it to Mormon Island and Prairie City. A year later, their canals had reached Negro Bar. Some of these same canals and ditches can now be seen as Folsom Lake’s level continues to drop. Jim Davies, 75, who resided beside the Natoma Ditch at Red Bank while growing up, said the ditch was used as a water supply even as late as the 1940s. The ditch is sometimes referred to as the Natomas Ditch because of the ever-changing name of the company that owned and operated it. “Every one who lived near the ditch used it for bathing,” he said. “It was common to see a bar of soap lying on the ditch bank.” By that time, Mormon Island and the surrounding ranches, including Red Bank, had become a “community of small farms,” Davies recalled. “It was more like a village, really.” Davies now calls Galt home, but he often returns to the area. His sister, Myrna Brown, 69, now resides in Sunnyvale, but she also has fond memories of the ditch. “I don’t think I knew until later that (the ditch) was the Folsom drinking water,” she said in a phone interview with the Telegraph. “We learned to swim in it. It had pretty steep banks and it had a swift current. When I was allowed to get in, I was about 6. It was always exciting when we would get to go into the ditch during the summer and go swimming. The ditch was behind our house.” Brown said that for local kids, the ditch was also a means of transportation. “My grandparents lived further down the ditch, about a mile, and we would sometimes take inner tubes and float down to their house,” she said. Brown said her brother, Jim, learned the history of the ditches, canals and flumes and acts as the family historian. “I remember the flumes,” she said. “Some of them were built of wood and were really up high. My brothers were the explorers and they really explored and got to know that area.” Melinda Peak, with Peak and Associates in El Dorado Hills, wrote a 1993 survey of the ditch system. “These flumes were major engineering works,” she wrote. “For example, on the main canal of the Natomas Ditch system there were four flumes that measured over 1,000 feet in length. The most spectacular of these flumes was the ‘High Flume’ over New York Ravine which was 1,791 feet long, standing 83 feet in height.” The first time the family returned to their old home site at Red Bank was during the drought of 1977 and 1978. They returned 30 years later last Thanksgiving. “As we crossed over the ditch, my brother Don said, ‘Stop a minute and you can hear the water,’” she said. “There’s some kind of memory of the sound of that water coming down the ditch.” It is a crime to remove artifacts, no matter how trivial they may appear, from the historic sites that are emerging from the waters of the lake. Anne and Ralph Rhea penned the 2003 book, “The Legacy of Natomas,” that describes the evolution of the company that placed a dam along the river and ran water down to Prairie City, Mormon Island, Red Bank and Folsom. At the time they formed the company, Mormon Island boasted a population of “1,500 men and was one of the most important mining districts in the Sierra foothills,” according to the book. Davies remembers the ditch well. He said Salmon Falls was eventually a handful of ranches, the largest being the Miller ranch, with the family owning most of the valley before it was flooded by the construction of the Folsom Dam in the 1950s. “The ditch started near Salmon Falls with a dam (built in 1853) on the American River. There were two ditches. One went down the Negro Hill bank and the other went down the Folsom bank, and that one ran clear down from Salmon Falls to Red Bank and on to Folsom. There was the Sweetwater Creek and they dammed it up, but they only used it for irrigation there. The Sweetwater water was free, they didn’t have to pay for it,” he said. “Also on the Miller ranch was a huge water wheel and flume. The flumes were made from tin and crossed Sweetwater Creek, where it ran into the American River. There was a water wheel with a pump nearby at the Natoma ditch that was owned by the Miller family. It pumped water into their house.” He said after the ditch left the settlement of Salmon Falls, it traveled along the banks of the river and hillsides. “It passed above the waterfall that was known as Salmon Falls. It was probably pretty difficult putting that ditch around it. And those falls were kind of interesting. They got the name Salmon Falls because that’s as far as the salmon could go. The Indians used to come down to collect salmon there. Later, the residents dynamited it and sort of stair stepped it so the salmon could get farther up the river,” he said. “Then it got down to a place called White Oak Flats. It’s where New York creek ran into the American River and it was a pretty deep canyon. They built a siphon there. … Instead of going over the canyon, they put this ‘u’ shaped pipe down in the canyon that climbed back up the other side,” he said. “Then it continued on it to the Hart Winery. There’s a pretty steep hill and rather than dig into the hill, they dug a tunnel that was maybe 150 to 200 feet long. It was the only tunnel along the ditch.” He said from there it continued on to the El Dorado Ranch and the last flume. “That flume, that will be out of the water pretty soon, if it’s not already,” Davies said. “It crossed Brown’s Ravine.” Peak and Associates, in their 1993 survey, indicated the ditch was a “cultural resource.” The Parkway at Blue Ravine Project was required to adhere to the National Historic Preservation Act during construction in order to help preserve what remains of the old water delivery system. Davies fondly recalls his days as a kid playing in the ditch, particularly the flume. “It was a half of a pipe, a trot, built out of steel. Inside that flume, the water probably was going 20 miles an hour,” he said. “As kids, we used to ride that flume and boy it was fun. We would lay back with just our nose and eyes above water. We’d hit that flume and shoot off. You didn’t dare raise your head or you would get hit by one of those beams overhead.” He said that when he was growing up there were fewer than 12 families who lived in the area, but they were all served by the ditch. “The Natoma ditch made a big difference in the income the land produced,” he said. “The ditch also supplied Folsom with drinking water. I remember seeing small fish and tadpoles coming from kitchen faucets in Folsom. In the summertime, most people stopped drinking the ditch water because it acquired a fishy flavor.” Nancy Percy, with the Heritage Preservation League of Folsom, said the network of ditches provided water to the miners in Folsom. “There are ditches all over Folsom,” she said. “There was a ditch that fed the Willow Hill reservoir, which is now a pond, and provided water for the Chinese Digging.” She said the ditch supplied water as far down as Alder Creek, where the Folsom Automall now sits. The Mormon Island company went through a series of transitions through the 20th century and finally ceased operations as in independent company in 1984 after 133 years in operation, according to the book, “Legacy of Natomas.” Other recollections Myrna Brown: “The first time we went out to the Red Bank Ranch, in 1978, was the first time we saw it since it was flooded. We found things, like pennies, on cement pylons and it was interesting to us that very little was disturbed. It’s not like an ocean. It was amazing to us that all the foundations were there. We were there last Thanksgiving, and there was an outcropping of rock that was one of my favorite places to play. It could be anything, (like) a castle or a boat. I let my daughters play on it and took pictures. My brothers thought it was a fort, so they had their own way of playing.” Jim Davies: “After the Natoma ditch left the settlement of Salmon Falls, it traveled downriver and steadily climbed above the river on its way to Folsom. The river was falling, but the ditch sort of stayed level. … The Bugbee Winery was a forgotten ruin on the south bank of Brown’s Creek. The Hart Winery was now planted to pears. … It was a beautiful area and to a kid like me, it was fascinating. … In 1936, my parents (Artie and Bud Davies) started a dairy on Green Valley Road just below the ditch at the county line. In 1941, they bought the ranch that had been the Red Bank Winery. There was no running water and no electricity.”

Editor’s note: This is the final installment in a three-part series on the history of the Mormon Island area, which is resurfacing due to the drought. The sounds of horse hooves hitting dusty earth once again echo across the small valley that was once a bustling economic center and the main route between Sacramento and Georgetown. The thriving township of Salmon Falls, founded along the South Fork of the American River at Sweetwater Creek after gold was discovered nearby in 1849, featured hotels, saloons, a bridge, ranches, miners and a dam. Since 1956, the entire area has been under the waters of Folsom Lake except during times of extreme drought, such as the one currently gripping the state. Because the lake has dropped to a dangerously low level, the remains of the old town are showing themselves and allowing hikers, equestrians and cyclists a chance to walk the old bridge and view the foundations once again. Peggy Christensen, a resident of the area for 40 years, said she enjoys going out on horseback, dogs in tow, to explore. “This is a piece of history,” she said. “What amazes us is there was a whole community that has disappeared.” More than 50 years ago, a similar sentiment was expressed by John Wilson, author of “These Lonely Hills.” In his book, he lamented the loss of the area’s rich heritage because of one substance – water. Published shortly before the construction of the Folsom Dam in the early 1950s, he wrote, “Within a few years, the land that comprised the original town site of Salmon Falls … will be completely covered by the lake that will back up behind the great Folsom Dam. … Thus will come to an end the location of one of the busiest mining centers during California’s early years. And Salmon Falls will take its place – along with Mormon Island and other historic spots in that area – as a part of the lost land that once played an important role in California’s golden beginning.” Ironically, it was water that played such a major role in shaping the region, and it originated from the very towns it was about to sink – Mormon Island and Salmon Falls. The Natoma Company, which went by many names during its lifespan, was formed in Mormon Island in 1851 to provide water to the miners and agricultural interests in the area using a complex series of canals, ditches and flumes. That water came from a small reservoir created by a dam the company built in 1852 on the South Fork of the American River at Salmon Falls. “What the Natoma Ditch did was manipulate nature,” said Melinda Peak, president of Peak and Associates, an El Dorado Hills-based archaeological and historical research company. “Water is the key in California.” In 1993, her company was contracted to perform a cultural resources study for a development that was taking place near the Natoma Ditch, sometimes referred to as the Natomas Ditch due to the ever-changing name of the company that owned the system. “The Natomas Ditch system also provided water for a number of farms, orchards and vineyards … allowing for permanent settlement of these areas,” she concluded in her study at the time. She said without the ditch system and water supplied by Salmon Falls, the area is only livable during part of the year. “Everything is dependent on water and distributing it through a big system, you enable mining and agriculture,” she said. “Where you had the ditch, you could water your ranch to grow grapes or (other crops). People could have never done anything with that land without the ditch coming through.” Peak explained that cattle ranchers were forced to drive their cattle to Lake Tahoe for greener pastures when the rains stopped in the valley. At the first sign of snow in Tahoe, they would drive their cattle back to the Mormon Island and Salmon Falls areas. “Even raising cattle, you had to have two ranges,” she said. “While in Tahoe, they sold milk and (other products).” When the ditch system came through, it allowed the ranchers to stay put, which also created jobs, she said. Peggy Christensen said she’s amazed that not only has the town been lost, but major development in the area has also pushed out the cattle ranchers. “It’s also amazing that the cattlemen have disappeared,” she said. “I used to work for Frank Turner, and we used to drive cattle east up Malcolm Dixon up to Dixon corral that sat by the school house and load them up in the trucks up there. That’s all gone now.” Peak said the population of Salmon Falls was the highest in 1860, published accounts putting it at 3,000, but steadily declined after that. “There’s a whole range of things that happened (at Salmon Falls), until it eventually was down to one lady who had to give up her ranch when the lake came in,” she said. The old Salmon Falls Bridge is fully exposed and Christensen said she’s ridden horses over the structure before when the water has been so low. Her husband, Ken, has snapped quite few photos of the ruins, including those at Red Bank in the Mormon Island area (see FolsomTelegraph.com to read the first part of the series). “There are a bunch of foundations coming out now,” he said. “You see the big wheel coming out now and the concrete they used for the ditch. It’s just downstream from the new (Salmon Falls) bridge.” Peggy said the bridge is neat to look at in the sunlight, but isn’t much fun if the lake is just starting to drop and you hit it with a boat. --- If you go Take the Salmon Falls Road to Falcon Crest Lane to Old Salmon Falls Road. There is a $3 per vehicle paid parking area. Hike toward the river from the parking area. The historic town site isn’t far. What you’ll see The old Salmon Falls Bridge, concrete stairs, a partial basement and remains of a dam and bridge at Sweetwater Creek. Remnants of Natoma Ditch are also evident. In the know 1860 area population estimate: 3,000 First bridge constructed 1853 Washed out in 1855 Second bridge constructed 1855 Washed out 1862 Third bridge, usually underwater, built after 1883 The California Stage Company ran two stagecoach lines out of Salmon Falls, one to Auburn, the other to Georgetown and Sacramento by way of Pilot Hill.

Folsom Lake search is on for 1965 plane crash

El Dorado County Sheriff's office seeks help from sonar operator

By: Penne Usher, Telegraph Correspondent

While families hiked among ruins at Folsom Lake and side-stepped gooey mud shores, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office was investigating a plane crash dating back 49 years.

Hundreds flocked to the lake over the weekend to visit the Red Bank ruins now visible due to low water levels.

Others came to see just how low the water had become.

While families climbed among stone rubble and searched the shore for interesting artifacts, law enforcement officials were at work trying to recover the remains of victims from a nearly five-decades-old crash.

On Jan. 1, 1965, a plane went down over Folsom Lake.

Four people were reportedly aboard the plane, but only one body was recovered at the time.

Sheriff’s officials said the department was recently contacted by one victim’s family.

Frank Wilcox’s brother was reportedly one of the victims of the crash.

According to media reports from the time, pilot Ford Marshall, 50, of Roseville, a 15-year-old boy, James Marshall, 51, and Helen Gotcher, of Southern California, were onboard.

James Marshall’s body was the only one recovered.

In the years since the crash, the El Dorado County Coroner’s office has been contacted by the surviving family members who provided some historical information about the crash and its possible location, according to a press release from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.

While not indicating the exact location of the wreckage, officials have said it could be located with El Dorado County.

Aiding in the search for the victims and wreckage is underwater side scan sonar operator Gene Ralston along with his wife Sandy. The couple agreed to assist in the search.

The Ralstons have been working with law enforcement for the past week, as conditions allow, to assist in the investigation.

Alan Hoak and his family were at the lake Sunday to check out the Red Bluff ruins. Hoak said he saw news reports and was intrigued.

“I figured I wouldn’t get to see this again if we didn’t come up now,” he said.

The Elk Grove family were surprised to learn of the wreckage.

“I had no idea that a plane had crashed here,” Hoak said. “It’s sad to see the lake this low, but it’s a good thing if the plane wreckage and bodies can be recovered.”

Shirley Ramirez hiked to the ruins Sunday out of curiosity.

“I kept seeing the news about the lake and they kept talking about the ruins. I wanted to see them and show it to my kids,” she said.

Upon learning about the search, reportedly west of the Red Bank ruins, Ramirez was intrigued.

“Wow, that’s awesome,” she said. “I mean, it’s sad about the crash, but pretty cool that (officials) can search for it now. I’d like to see that place too.”

Many others would like to visit the site of the crash, however, law enforcement are keeping the location under wraps for now.

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office as well as the Placer County Sheriff’s Office are providing logistical support as well as scene security on the water due to shared jurisdictional boundaries.

“We respectfully ask that persons not involved in our search effort remain clear of our boats,” the news release states.

The ultimate goal of law enforcement is to recover the body of the victims.

“We are hopeful that the victims of the plane crash can be located and recovered so that they may be laid to rest in a dignified manner,” the press release states.

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