El Dorado

Formed February 18, 1850 (5^th county)

El Dorado County (191,184), Placerville (10,742), South Lake Tahoe (21,336)

The governmental masonry courthouse was built in 1912 in Classical Revival style.  It is located at Main and Bedford streets, on United States Highway 50.  Clarence Cecil Cuff is the architect.  The building was restored in 1970.  An Administrative Center was added in 1975 and a Courts building was added in 1991.  Placerville, the only county seat, was also home to the 1870 county courthouse.  Immediately following statehood, El Dorado County was formed on February 18, 1850.  It was the 5^th county.  The county is an original county.  El Dorado is Spanish for “gilded”.  It is a name given to a location believed to be rich in gold.  Placer is Spanish for “place”.  It is a name given to a sandy or gravelly location where gold particles are mixed with the sand. 

El Dorado County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, controller, and treasurer (executive).  It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.)  Seven Superior Court Judges, clerk, and counsel serve El Dorado County (judicial.)  The county is in the Sierra Nevada Mountains east of Sacramento, California.  Its east border is with Nevada.  The Consumes River is the south border and a fork of the American River is the north border.  The county center is 39.2 miles East of Placerville nearer Kyburz.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Placer County and Nevada and Alpine, Amador, and Sacramento counties.  The county is a fluffy pillow shape.  Placerville is in the western half of the county.  South Lake Tahoe is located in the extreme eastern part of the county on the border with Nevada.  Placerville is the county seat and South Lake Tahoe is the largest city.  Placerville is 5.6% of the county population while South Lake Tahoe is 11.2% of the county population.  The county is pronounced EL DOE-RA-DOE.  The county seat is pronounced PLA-SER-VIL.  

The area of the county is 1712 square miles.  It is 28 out of 58 in the state.  It ranks 29 out of 58 in population in the state.  It has a density of 111.7 persons per square mile making it 29 out of 58 in the state.  El Dorado County has 16.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 50 goes east to west from Nevada to Sacramento County.  This county is in the Sacramento-Arden Arcade-Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area.