Fiddletown - California Ghost Town

FIDDLETOWN

NAME: Fiddletown
COUNTY: Amador
ROADS: 2WD
GRID #(see map): 3
CLIMATE: Cool winter, warm summer
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime.

COMMENTS: Just south of Placerville, Semi-ghost.
REMAINS: Many original buildings.

One does not have to dwell too long to imagine how the town received its name. A group of men from Missouri came to the Mother Lode seeking their fortunes soon after gold was first discovered. Their first winter in camp was a wet one, forcing the men to spend much of their time indoors. Most of them had played the "fiddle" back home, so it was only natural they would spend their time indoors playing what came naturally. Thus, the name Fiddletown. And that is still its name. It is said Fiddletown was as wild a camp as any in the Mother Lode. The town flourished first by placer mining and then by hydraulic mining when the placer gave out. Current residents of Fiddletown, although not many, would like to see some new faces now and then. So, stop by when you have a chance for there is much to enjoy in this town of "fiddlers" of long ago. Fiddletown is east of Plymouth and south of El Dorado off of highway 49.Submitted by Henry Chenoweth. East of highway 49 is the quaint community of Fiddletown. It has a number of buildings dating from the 1850s including a general store, a Chinese gambling house, a Wells Fargo office, a blacksmith shop, a restored schoolhouse and others. The earliest home left in Fiddletown is now a private residence. House over 100 years old -- wood frame -- building was Atkinson General Store Courtesy Dolores Steele School -- 1863 - was eight-grade --- one-teacher school Courtesy Dolores Steele Out behind the school Courtesy Dolores Steele Fiddletown Cemetery Courtesy Dolores Steele Broken head stone -- babies - died 1891 & 1893 Courtesy Dolores Steele Fiddletown Courtesy Dolores Steele Blacksmith and Wagon Shop Courtesy Dolores Steele	Fiddletown Courtesy Dolores Steele Fire House Courtesy Dolores Steele Chew Kee Store -- rammed earth adobe Courtesy Dolores Steele Blacksmith and Wagon Shop - 1870 Courtesy Dolores Steele Fiddletown Courtesy Dolores Steele Chinese Gambling House Courtesy Dolores Steele Fiddletown Courtesy Dolores Steele Fiddletown Courtesy Dolores Steele

One does not have to dwell too long to imagine how the town received its name. A group of men from Missouri came to the Mother Lode seeking their fortunes soon after gold was first discovered. Their first winter in camp was a wet one, forcing the men to spend much of their time indoors. Most of them had played the "fiddle" back home, so it was only natural they would spend their time indoors playing what came naturally. Thus, the name Fiddletown. And that is still its name. It is said Fiddletown was as wild a camp as any in the Mother Lode. The town flourished first by placer mining and then by hydraulic mining when the placer gave out. Current residents of Fiddletown, although not many, would like to see some new faces now and then. So, stop by when you have a chance for there is much to enjoy in this town of "fiddlers" of long ago. Fiddletown is east of Plymouth and south of El Dorado off of highway 49.Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.

East of highway 49 is the quaint community of Fiddletown. It has a number of buildings dating from the 1850s including a general store, a Chinese gambling house, a Wells Fargo office, a blacksmith shop, a restored schoolhouse and others. The earliest home left in Fiddletown is now a private residence.