The Clarksville Courier: Nov. 2015
Vol. I No. 2 Clarksville Region Historical Society Fall-Winter 2015
CRHS President Betty January at the Folsom Rail Fest
Hello All,
This newsletter I want to let you know what is going on, and what is planned, for our Clarksville Region Historical Society this winter.
We are currently updating our website, edh-history.org, so as to better communicate with our interested public. It should be ready for viewing in November. The work is being done by Steiner Designs, a local firm. Please pardon any inconvenience you may have with the website while the work is progressing.
CURRENT UPDATES
Clarksville Cemetery.
We are currently applying for a grant to provide three lovely concrete benches that we will place in the cemetery to give people a place to rest other than on the tombstones and plots.
As reported previously, both the new wrought-iron fencing and new gate are completed. The col-umns flanking the gate are slated to be repaired, and we are reviewing bids for the repairs. When these are finished the only improvement left would be the archway proclaiming “Clarksville Cemetery” and “1853”.
Portion of the new cemetery fence
The archway will present us with some diffi-culties. We had a structural engineer examine the columns, and the columns are too fragile to support the arch. Therefore we must somehow design a free-standing structure. That project is just in the starting phase, and I will keep you posted.
Silva Valley Interchange.
The work on the interchange has prevented us from holding Clarksville Day for the past few years. However, a new road is open now that allows access to Clarksville just before the bridge. It is still private property, and there is a locked gate at the entrance to the former Tong property.
Also, for the time being Joerger Cutoff Road, the road up to the Clarksville Cemetery, is blocked by construction.
We are hoping to hold a Clarksville Day in 2017. A meeting with the owners of the Clarksville property is being arranged to start planning that event.
CRHS at The Folsom Rail Fest
We just finished participating at the Placerville Sacramento Valley Rail Fest held at the Hampton Inn Station in Folsom the week end of September 26th and 27th. We had a booth at the event, replete with pictures and information to hand out.
One of our board members, Jim Vindler of Vindler Realty, donated a beautiful basket full of wonderful things that drew many people to our booth. Between the basket and a “wheel for toys” for the children, we were able to talk with many people. Most of them knew about Clarksville and some wondered when Clarksville Day would resume. A few were friends of descendants, and one women had lived in Clarksville for a short time. It was a success.
The main event, the new diesel engine train with two open cars and a caboose, was very popular. Train rides were offered, and were very popular. I saw people dancing on the open car while it was stopped at the White Rock Road grade crossing. It was fun for every one.
We support this organization, and hope that some day El Dorado County will allow their trains access to our county, and allow the railroaders to preserve these historic tracks.
Pleasant Grove House.
We have met with Tony Mansour, in support of the Rescue Historic Society, to ask his advice on how to preserve the historic Pleasant Grove House and barn, built in 1855 on Green Valley Road (then the Old Coloma Highway) for our local history. Tony, though not owner of the property, offered several interesting suggestions and was generous with his time.
We are hopeful that Rescue Historical Society may come up with some interesting way to save the structure, if only as a replica.
Skinners
We are also fully supporting the efforts of descen-dants of the Skinner family to restore the original 1861 Skinner winery located on the corner of Green Valley Road and Cameron Park [Starbuck] Roads, which up to recently was home to a garden nursery.
The original stone cellar, where the wine and brandy were made, is now restored and houses the Skinner Museum. Now the plans for the restoration of the site itself on top of the cellar is going through all the “many” county departments seeking approval. We are supporting the Skinners on that issue.
COMING UP
Our next and last meeting for 2015 will be October 28th at 6:30 p.m. at the El Dorado Hills Library. Our speaker will be Jill Kearney who will present the “Bullion Bend Stage Holdup by Confederates.” This robbery took place just a few miles from Pla-cerville, and is a great true story. Come support our society in our pursuit of history and preservation. This is free, so bring friends and family. For information call 916-933-3173.
January 27th will be our Annual General Membership Meeting And Election. Our speaker will be Dee Owens who will talk on “Old Maps of El Dorado County.” At that meeting we will announce some of the initiatives we have planned for 2016, and 2017.
Remember that in 2016 our regular meetings will meet at the El Dorado Hills Library at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Wednesdays of the months of January through May, then September and October.
Planning has already started for holding Clarks-ville Day in the Spring of 2017. Everyone is looking forward to celebrating Clarksville Day again.
In the long run, we need to increase our membership in 2016 and we plan to offer the membership a chance to actively participate in many of our upcoming projects.
The Clarksville Courier is published from time to time by the Clarksville Region Historical Society, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation. © 2015 All Rights Reserved.
John E. Thomson, Ph.D., Editor doctorjet@aol.com