Site information:

E side of Prairie City Rd, 500 ft N of State Hwy 50

Nothing remains of this site, as far as I know.

38.644458,-121.157609

Plaque information:

State plaque at site described above. Private plaque about Prairie City at Mormon Island Cemetery (see #569).

State plaque text:

Prairie City

Site of Prairie City, mining town and center of trade in California's gold rush days. In July 1853, at the height of its prosperity, Prairie City included 15 stores and 10 boarding houses and hotels, two stage lines operated daily. A quartz mill that cost $50,000 to build operated here in the 1850s.

Tablet placed by California Centennials Commission. Base furnished by Ferm Parlor No. 123 Native Daughters of the Golden West and Granite Parlor No. 83, Native Sons of the Golden West. Dedicated November 5, 1950.

Private plaque text:

Prairie City Cemetery

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.

Erected by the California Department of Transportation.  For further information on known and possible interments, please visit the Folsom History Museum.

Registered 8/30/1950