History of Old Town Center
The Masonic Building was built by S.G. Beach and Company in the fall of 1893 for the Placerville Masonic Hall Association, using 85,000 first quality bricks shipped from Sacramento. It housed some of the finest legal talent in the county, attorneys such as Charles Swisler who served in the state legislature beginning in 1895 and George H. Blanchard, a legislature and the foremost mining attorney in the area. The lodge rooms were upstairs.
Chronology
1853 – 1856- The site of the National Saloon.
1856 – 1864- After the fire of 1856 Davis & Roy’s famous Nebraska Saloon was built.
1864 – 1871- Roy & Tryon’s Cabinet Warehouse.
1871 – 1887- A.T. Culbertson’s Furniture Store.
1887 – 1920- M.Q. Meehan Hardware Store specialized in selling carload lots of Hercules Blasting Powder used in deep gold mines.
1920 – 1958- Dr. R.A. Rantz and Don A. Goodrich owned the Sportsman Shop.
1958 – 1983- Location of Atwood Insurance Co.
1981 – The Masonic Building was purchased by Mr. & Mrs. J.K. Woo who have remodeled the building to house retail shops, professional offices, and constructed a large deck over Hangtown Creek.
Marker is on Main Street, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
