El Dorado Gold 1848

El Dorado Gold 1848 was incorporated in the Fall of 2020 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with the original goal of acquiring two county-owned buildings on Main Street in Placerville (515 and 525 Main Street) for the creation of a museum to ‘display heritage and enhance future endeavors through education, the preservation of historical buildings and historical artifacts’.  Situated across Main Street from the Fountain-Tallman Museum at 524 Main Street, these two buildings would have been a perfect ‘fit’ for downtown Placerville and a wonderful addition to historical preservation in El Dorado County.  Unfortunately, the original goal did not fully occur.

On October 20, 2020, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors unanimously accepted the proposal submitted by Jill G. Kearney, President of the El Dorado County Historical Society (EDCHS) and Kris Payne, EDCHS Past-President and Proposal Designee, to acquire both 515 Main Street and 525 Main Street.   However, with the replacement of two county supervisors on January 1st, 2021, the new Board of Supervisors ultimately agreed to sell only 515 Main Street to the newly-formed corporation (El Dorado Gold 1848) for $100,000.00.  The building at 525 Main Street was sold to the City of Placerville.   Funds for 515 Main Street were provided by the El Dorado County Historical Society ($75,000), the United States Gold Panning Association ($25,000) and a private individual ($10,000) to cover the cost and expenses of acquiring the building.  Escrow closed on the sale of the building on April 29, 2021.

Until the upper floor (5,000 square feet) of the building is remodeled with offices, conference room, reference library and the museum, the Board of Directors realized that a revenue stream was needed to fund ongoing expenses (insurance, utilities, maintenance, etc.).  To that end, the Board of Directors dedicated a portion of the lower floor of 515 Main Street as a “Nonprofit Center” with the goal of providing affordable office space to El Dorado County nonprofit organizations to further assist each such organization in achieving their goals.  As of this date, seven (of the eight) office suites have been leased, providing El Dorado Gold 1848 with a monthly income of $1,900.00.  This has allowed Board members to direct their efforts towards designing and obtaining grants for the creation of a first-class museum.