El Dorado County Historical Museum

El Dorado County Historical Museum entrance

County and regional history you can take home with you

Take a fun and insightful guided museum tour

Learn about John Studebaker's gold rush days in Placerville

Train Depot in El Dorado, California

Collection of historical machinery, such as this stamp mill

Find us on Facebook

Museum Exhibits and Artifact Collection

Take a stroll through El Dorado County's history! The museum features a variety of permanent indoor and outdoor exhibits and artifacts on display.

The museum also prepares multiple special exhibits that can be viewed throughout the year.

Click here for information on the current special exhibits.

Click here for details about the Museum store and gift shop.

Museum Hours and Admission

Museum Exhibits

Monday:

Closed

Tuesday:

Closed

Wednesday:

12PM - 4PM
Click here to make a reservation

Thursday:

12PM - 4PM
Click here to make a reservation

Friday:

12PM - 4PM
Click here to make a reservation

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed

Museum Archives

Currently closed with staff and volunteers answering research questions by email. Click here to submit a research request.

El Dorado Western Railroad

Click here for the current location, schedule and ticket information

Museum Admission

Museum admission is free, with a suggested donation of $2 per person.

Museum Archives and County Research Room

The County Research Room, located at the museum, Contains over 27,000 historical photographs, maps, court records and genealogical information covering El Dorado County history.

Submit a research request to have museum staff research a specific topic, area, property, etc. realted to El Dorado County.

El Dorado Western Railroad

The El Dorado Western Railroad operates on the historic Southern Pacific Placerville Branch tracks. Hop on and take a ride on a vintage railroad inspection car!

Click here for the current location, schedule and ticket information.

Note: The El Dorado Western Railroad cannot be boarded at the Museum exhibit grounds, but nearby at one or more of the historic train depot locations.

Other Museum Links

Museum Commission Agendas and Minutes

Other Links

(The Research Room is not open for browsing.)

The El Dorado County Historical Museum, located at 104 Placerville Drive in Placerville (next to the Fairgrounds,) has been a place to see and learn about the rich history of El Dorado County since 1974. With the mission to preserve and interpret the county’s history through artifacts and documents, the County Museum presents exhibits, tours, research and special programs for the public to learn from and enjoy.

At the County Museum

Artifacts from the County’s past reflect the people, activities and events that occurred here. Displays start with a collection of baskets and tools made by skilled artists of the Miwok, Nisanan and Washoe Native American people, and cover the Gold Rush, the logging and lumber industry, transportation, and some of the historical figures such as Snowshoe Thompson, the Goat Doctor and John Studebaker, famous for his gold-rush era wheelbarrows. There is an Old General Store, fine household furnishings, school desks and household items from over 100 years ago, such as the Icy Ball cooler.

Museum Archives and County Research Room

The El Dorado County Historical Museum maintains the County’s Research Room where local records and archives are kept and made available to the public. There are over 27,000 historical photographs, historical maps, court records, and genealogical information covering El Dorado County history. Please contact us and staff and volunteers will try to answer your questions. You may also submit a research request to have museum staff research a specific topic, area, property, etc. related to El Dorado County. Please include a description or as much detail as you can of the information you are looking for. Museum staff and volunteers will answer research requests in the order they are submitted.

El Dorado Western Railroad

As an extension of the oldest railroad west of the Mississippi, the “Placerville Branch” of the Southern Pacific Railway was completed in 1888 and carried passengers and freight between Sacramento and Placerville. Lumber, fruit, and other produce was hauled to distribution centers in Sacramento, and then sent all over the country by rail. Now the County Museum’s El Dorado Western Railroad operates on the track in Shingle Springs and in El Dorado. This volunteer-operated railroad offers rides on railroad inspection cars to the public as they work to restore rolling stock and repair the tracks in anticipation of operating a train. Click Here for more information including ride schedules, locations and tickets.

Upcoming Events

Title	Location	Start Time

Museum Tours	104 Placerville Drive, Placerville, CA	9/30/2023 12:00 PM



El Dorado Western Railroad	4650 Oriental Street, El Dorado, CA	10/1/2023 10:00 AM
Click here for information about schedules, tickets, updates and more


Museum Tours	104 Placerville Drive, Placerville, CA	10/1/2023 12:00 PM



Museum Tours	104 Placerville Drive, Placerville, CA	10/4/2023 12:00 PM



Museum Tours	104 Placerville Drive, Placerville, CA	10/5/2023 12:00 PM



Museum Tours	104 Placerville Drive, Placerville, CA	10/6/2023 12:00 PM



Museum Tours	104 Placerville Drive, Placerville, CA	10/7/2023 12:00 PM



El Dorado Western Railroad	Shingle Springs Station 4241 Mother Lode Dr	10/8/2023 10:00 AM

Museum

Museum Exhibits and Artifact Collection

Take a stroll through El Dorado County's history! The museum features a variety of permanent indoor and outdoor exhibits and artifacts on display.

The museum also prepares multiple special exhibits that can be viewed throughout the year.

Click here for information on the current special exhibits.

Click here for details about the Museum store and gift shop.

​Museum Hours and Admission

Museum Exhibits

Monday:

Closed

Tuesday:

Closed

Wednesday:

12PM - 4PMClick here to make a reservation

Thursday:

12PM - 4PM Click here to make a reservation

Friday:

12PM - 4PM Click here to make a reservation

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed

Museum Archives

Currently closed with staff and volunteers answering research questions by email. Click here to submit a research request.

El Dorado Western Railroad

Museum Admission

Museum admission is free, with a suggested donation of $2 per person.

​Museum Archives and County Research Room

The County Research Room, located at the museum, Contains over 27,000 historical photographs, maps, court records and genealogical information covering El Dorado County history.

Submit a research request to have museum staff research a specific topic, area, property, etc. realted to El Dorado County.

​El Dorado Western Railroad

The El Dorado Western Railroad operates on the historic Southern Pacific Placerville Branch tracks. Hop on and take a ride on a vintage railroad inspection car!

Click here for the current location, schedule and ticket information.

Note: The El Dorado Western Railroad cannot be boarded at the Museum exhibit grounds, but nearby at one or more of the historic train depot locations.

​Other Museum Links

Museum Hours and Admission

12PM - 4PM
Click here to make a reservation

12PM - 4PM
Click here to make a reservation

12PM - 4PM
Click here to make a reservation

Museum Archives and County Research Room

El Dorado Western Railroad

Other Museum Links