Mormon Island gold rush ruins

I walked along the Folsom Lake bottom during our California drought. I was fascinated with the remains of what used to be Mormon Diggings or Mormon Island. Actually, a lot of people were interested, I’ve never seen so many people at the Lake. Most of the old town was still underwater, but you could see some old foundations.

A small community of Mormons used to live here along the south fork of the American River, before Folsom Dam was built — they panned for gold in this territory. In 1848, some of the men from the Mormon Battalion came through here and found gold along the sandbar. This was just after they found gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma. That brought a rush of other Mormons looking for gold, and by 1853, the town had 2,500 people, 4 hotels,  stores, saloons, and an express office. In 1856 a fire destroyed most of the town.

I saw some old foundations as I walked around the bottom of Folsom Lake and took photos. Still, much of the settlement was still underwater.

Orrin Porter Rockwell used to live around here and owned a saloon. He went by the name of James B. Brown while living in northern California because he didn’t want anyone to know his identity — some men wanted him dead (he had been the body guard for Joseph Smith).  I guess he tried his hand at panning for gold but discovered it was easier to make money selling whiskey to the miners.The boat ramp area at Folsom Lake is called Brown’s Ravine.

When the dam was built the town was mostly uninhabited, and the waters flooded in to form Folsom Lake, covering the remains. The Mormon Island cemetery was relocated to where it sits across from the dam. Today the lake is used for boating and fishing and storing water. The rains have refilled it somewhat, but not entirely back to normal levels.