Coleman City, California Explained

Coleman City
Other Name:Emily City
Settlement Type:Ghost town
Pushpin Map:USA California San Diego County#USA California Southern#USA California#USA
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in California
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:San Diego County
Established Date:1870
Coordinates:33.0861°N -116.645°W
Elevation Footnotes:[1]
Elevation Ft:3601

Coleman City, also called Emily City, is a ghost town in San Diego County, California.[2] It lies at an elevation of 3601 feet. It is located on State Highway 78 where it crosses Coleman Creek, about four miles west of Julian.

History

Coleman City was founded in the early months of 1870 by the first placer miners who rushed to Coleman Creek, following the news of the discovery of gold there by A. E. Coleman who first discovered gold there in January1870. Coleman, with earlier experience in the gold camps in Northern California, subsequently formed the Coleman Mining District and was its recorder. He also established the Emily City mining town site. This mining camp, later renamed Coleman City in his honor, served the placer gold miners along Coleman Creek in the Coleman Mining District. The San Diego Union reported on February 17, 1870 that the camp had 75 miners inhabiting it. On March 17, following the discovery of the Washington Mine, it reported Coleman City consisted of a dozen tents with a population of 150 men, many sleeping on the ground in the open.[3] [4] [5]

After the discovery of the lode gold deposits near Julian the Julian Mining District was formed and with the depletion of the placer deposits, Coleman City was abandoned.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.topoquest.com/map.php?lat=33.08618&lon=-116.64517&datum=nad83&zoom=4&map=auto&coord=dms&mode=zoomin&size=m USGS 24K Map, Julian, CA; from topoquest.com, accessed 3/24/2013
  2. Leland Fetzer, San Diego County Place Names, A To Z; Sunbelt Publications, Inc., San Diego, 2005, p. 26, 43
  3. http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/v54-2/pdf/v54-2jordan.pdf Kathryn A. Jordan, Life Beyond Gold: A New Look at the History of Julian, California, The Journal of San Diego History, SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY, Spring 2008, Volume 54, Number 2, p.101
  4. Web site: Amber Ward, Fred Coleman and the Discovery of Julian's Gold, Ramona Home Journal . 2013-03-25 . 2014-11-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141128083550/http://ramonajournal.com/fred-coleman-and-the-discovery-of-julians-gold-p1707.htm . dead .
  5. http://www.sandiegohistory.org/books/pourade/glory/glorychapter4.htm Richard F. Pourade, The Glory Years, Union-Tribune Publishing Comopany, San Diego, 1964, Chapter 4: The Mountain that Sprouted Gold