Placerville, Idaho
| Placerville, Idaho | |
|---|---|
| City | |
 Location in Boise County and the state of Idaho |
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| Coordinates: 43°56′36″N 115°56′47″W / 43.94333°N 115.94639°WCoordinates: 43°56′36″N 115°56′47″W / 43.94333°N 115.94639°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Idaho |
| County | Boise |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.01 sq mi (2.62 km2) |
| • Land | 1.01 sq mi (2.62 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 4,324 ft (1,318 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 53 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 52 |
| • Density | 52.5/sq mi (20.3/km2) |
| Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| ZIP code | 83666 |
| Area code(s) | 208 |
| FIPS code | 16-63550 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0397043 |
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Placerville Historic District
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| Location | Roughly bounded by the townsite limits |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°56′35″N 115°56′49″W / 43.94306°N 115.94694°W |
| Area | 61 acres (25 ha) |
| Built | 1862 |
| Architect | Multiple |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Queen Anne |
| NRHP Reference # | 84001029 |
| Added to NRHP | September 7, 1984 |
Placerville is a city in Boise County, Idaho, United States. The population was 53 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Boise City–Nampa, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Placerville received its name because of placer mining in the vicinity. The ghost town is located 17 miles east of Horseshoe Bend. The townsite was selected December 1, 1862; and by December 16 there were six cabins in the camp. By the early summer of 1863, the town had 300 buildings and a population of 5,000. At the meeting of the first legislature held in Lewiston in 1863, the citizens obtained a charter for their city. Father Mesplie, a Catholic priest, held the first church service January 4, 1864, and in that same year a stage line was established between the Basin and Wallua to carry Wells Fargo express. It ran every other day from Placerville and went through in four days. By July 1864, 4500 claims had been recorded in the district.
Unlike the earlier northern Idaho mining areas of Florence (northeast of Riggins) and Pierce, the Boise Basin mines provided good returns over a period of many years, the peak years being 1863-66, during and immediately after the Civil War. For that reason the Boise Basin rush was significant an early Idaho settlement, bringing a substantial number of people who stayed to establish towns and providing a population base for retailing and agricultural settlement in the Boise Valley. Boise Basin had a higher percentage of families than did most mining areas, and the major towns, like Placerville and Idaho City, acquired substantial buildings, lodges, churches, schools, and post offices. Placerville was unusual in that it even had a street grid and a town square, known locally as the "plaza." Additionally it had an Episcopal church, thirteen saloons, seven restaurants, five butcher shops, five blacksmith shops, as well as hotels, druggists, express agents, bakeries, livery barns, carpenters, sawmills, and –attesting to the presence of women—dressmakers and a millinery shop.
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