Monday, November 12, 2012

Bloomer Cut, Placer County

From: "Chris Graves" caliron@att.net

The City of Auburn has tentatively decided in favor of naming the new streets in Baltimore Ravine with the names of CPRR locomotives; Baltimore Ravine is on "the other side" of Bloomer Cut, all residents will travel over Bloomer Cut on a new bridge to be built next Spring.

A new brass plaque will be placed on the bridge, telling the historically correct story of Bloomer Cut.

Of interest is the recent discovery of an 1858 map of Placer County, showing the exact location of the Bloomer Hotel, where Judah spent some time during his surveys. That map shows the Hotel to be directly under the new Auburn city fire house, located at the corner of Auburn Folsom Road and Maidu Road, about 1/2 mile from Bloomer Cut. Interviews with the groundskeepers at the Auburn Convent for retired nuns, which is immediately adjacent to the fire house, tells of their finding broken pottery at that location before and during construction of the fire house.

The term "Hotel" is perhaps a misnomer, in fact that building was the farm house of the owner of the land around the Cut, that farm owner rented rooms to travellers, of which Mr. Judah was one.

—G J Chris Graves, Newcastle, Cal.