You've probably driven past Dutch Flat on the way to North Lake Tahoe or Reno, but have you ever stopped to explore the quaint, historic town?

Dutch Flat was settled in 1851 by a group of German miners.  The first post office was established in 1856.  If you have been to the small town of Dutch Flat, you may be surprised to know that it was once the largest town in Placer County.

Travel is part of Dutch Flat's history.  A wagon road linking Dutch Flat to Virginia City, Nevada eventually became part of I-80. Dutch Flat also has a history of hydraulic mining, where water was shot at extremely high speeds into a mountain, washing debris downhill where gold was extracted.  The water was brought from up to twenty miles away in long ditches from the Bear River, North Fork of the American River, and the Yuba River.  Hydraulic mining in Dutch Flat continued until 1884 when all hydraulic mining was banned due to the destruction of the hills and the land downstream from the mines.

Dutch Flat also has a lumber history. Towle Brothers Lumber Co. was one of California's largest lumber companies.  At it's peak, the company owned over 20,000 acres of land. They also ran a narrow-gauge railroad that was 38 miles long.

The lumber company's employees included Chinese workers, and in the 1850s Dutch Flat's Chinatown was established.  It was one of California's largest settlements of Chinese people.  Chinatown burned down in 1877, and the Chinese people re-built south of town.  The Chinese Burial grounds can still be found among pine trees, although the bodies have been sent back to China.

Dutch Flat was also a cultural town.  It had an Opera House where someone you may have heard of lectured, a gentleman by the name of Mark Twain.  There was also a Dramatical Society and a Debating Society.

Many old buildings remain from the 1850s, including the Odd Fellows Hall, Masonic Temple, the Dutch Flat Hotel, Methodist Church, and the Dutch Flat Trading Post and Store.

Next time you are traveling to North Lake Tahoe or Reno via I-80, take the time to exit in Dutch Flat, get out, stretch your legs, and enjoy the town.  If you can't walk very well up and down hills (because Dutch Flat isn't flat) you can still enjoy a drive through this quaint, historic town.

http://www.foothill.net/alta/dutchfla.htm
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ca/dutchflat.html

Photo Courtesy Dolores Steele

Copyright 2008 Victoria Beninga