Airing Dirty Laundry

Looking for a unique vacation experience? Come join us for an authentic wagon journey as experienced in the 1800s. The Highway 50 Wagon Train Association has many fun filled activities guaranteed to entertain everyone in the family. There is a meeting each night at Lead Hitch - In addition you will experience the excitement of nightly campouts, BBQ and street dance, cowboy music, demonstrations, and endless fun. --Highway 50 Association website.

Since I attend the Carsdon City Rendezvous each year on the same weekend, I won't be able to watch the Highway 50 Wagon Train roll down Main Street in Placerville this year. This year is the 58th anniversary of the week-long trek from Zepher Cove, Nevada to Placerville. The annual event reenacts of the Great Western Migration that started in the 1840s.

Placerville served as the western terminus of the Overland Trail in the 1950s. From 1859 to 1866, the Placerville-Carson Road witnessed the great era of freighting and staging by horse-drawn vehicles to the Comstock in Nevada. U.S. Highway 50 now follows the route.

Confidence Hall was erected in 1860 as the firehouse for the Confidence Fire Company No. 1 in Placerville. According to one website, the fire company purchased a used engine called the "Confidence." When the firefighters found they couldn't remove its engraved name, they changed their name to match the engine.

The building, which is located at 487 Main Street, hosted the Placerville City Hall from 1902 until it relocated at the end of 2005.

The Jane Stuart Building is located at 489 Main Street. The plaque says, "Emigrant Jane drove a band of horses across the plains and from the proceeds of their sale, she built this building in 1861."