Fountain-Tallman Soda Works
Encyclopedia
The Fountain-Tallman Soda Works is a historic building in Placerville
, El Dorado County, California
. It currently houses the Fountain & Tallman Museum, which is owned and operated by the El Dorado County Historical Society. The rustic vernacular Victorian
brick building, in the Gold Country
, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
on September 13, 1984.
The two-story masonry structure was built as a soda water factory in 1852. The brick walls of the building are more than 2 foot (0.6096 m) thick so ice and soda supplies could be kept cool. These construction materials protected it from fires that had destroyed surrounding buildings, and as a result it is the oldest building in Placerville.
The water was pulled from the spring out back. An odd looking contraption housed inside the building added carbon dioxide (CO2) to the water, it is currently on display. Many miners apparently fancied a good soda water especially on a hot miner's day. The original floor was stone and from the close of the Soda water factory the building served for many different purposes and under many different owners, at one time it was the town jail. When the building was donated to the National Historical Society it became a museum upon the contingency that a public restroom be installed. Lifting up the stone floor revealed a bowie knife, handle long since rotted away, flakes of gold, and pieces of broken glass soda bottles with the original building owners mark intact. These items are still on display inside, two nice old ladies will tell you all about everything.
The building was converted into a museum using the funds from the estate of Placerville native Stella Tracy. Originally called the Placerville Historical Museum, it contains some of Tracy's turn-of-the-century furniture and photos as well as other exhibits of 19th and 20th-century memorabilia.
Another nearby soda works, the John Pearson Soda Works
, is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Placerville, California
Placerville is the county seat of El Dorado County, California. The population was 10,389 at the 2010 census, up from 9,610 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, El Dorado County, California
El Dorado County, California
El Dorado County is a county located in the historic Gold Country in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and foothills of the U.S. state of California. The 2010 population was 181,058. The El Dorado county seat is in Placerville....
. It currently houses the Fountain & Tallman Museum, which is owned and operated by the El Dorado County Historical Society. The rustic vernacular Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
brick building, in the Gold Country
Gold Country
Gold Country is a region in the central and northeastern part of California, United States. It is famed for the mineral deposits and gold mines that attracted waves of immigrants, known as the 49ers, during the 1849 California Gold Rush.-Geography:State Route 49 was built through the Gold Country,...
, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on September 13, 1984.
The two-story masonry structure was built as a soda water factory in 1852. The brick walls of the building are more than 2 foot (0.6096 m) thick so ice and soda supplies could be kept cool. These construction materials protected it from fires that had destroyed surrounding buildings, and as a result it is the oldest building in Placerville.
The water was pulled from the spring out back. An odd looking contraption housed inside the building added carbon dioxide (CO2) to the water, it is currently on display. Many miners apparently fancied a good soda water especially on a hot miner's day. The original floor was stone and from the close of the Soda water factory the building served for many different purposes and under many different owners, at one time it was the town jail. When the building was donated to the National Historical Society it became a museum upon the contingency that a public restroom be installed. Lifting up the stone floor revealed a bowie knife, handle long since rotted away, flakes of gold, and pieces of broken glass soda bottles with the original building owners mark intact. These items are still on display inside, two nice old ladies will tell you all about everything.
The building was converted into a museum using the funds from the estate of Placerville native Stella Tracy. Originally called the Placerville Historical Museum, it contains some of Tracy's turn-of-the-century furniture and photos as well as other exhibits of 19th and 20th-century memorabilia.
Another nearby soda works, the John Pearson Soda Works
John Pearson Soda Works
The John Pearson Soda Works, also referred to as the Placerville Soda Works, is a historic rustic vernacular Victorian brick building in Placerville, El Dorado County, California. The building, in the Gold Country region, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 1985...
, is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.