Placerville (the “A” sound is pronounced as in “hat”) is in the Sierra Nevada foothills, where Route 50 completes its descent from the mountains.
It was founded during the gold rush of 1848. Early in its history it was called Hangtown, because, well, the town officials hung people. There is a story that sometimes the backlog of prospective hangees was so great that the town erected not just one, but two, gallows, so there would be no waiting.
In 1854, when Placerville was incorporated and officially named, it was the third largest town in California.