Tag: placerville

Placerville California

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.

Hangtown Fry — Placerville, California

These eggs have been scrambled with oysters, bacon, and onions, resulting in a dish called Hangtown Fry. There are competing stories of its origin.

One story, promoted by Placerville, tells of a miner who discovered a rich vein of gold in the mid 1850s. Flush with his new wealth, he came into town and demanded a meal made of the most expensive ingredients he could imagine. At the time Placerville was called “Hangtown,” and so the dish became known as Hangtown Fry.

There is another story, though.

That one tells of a man condemned to hang. Desperate to delay his final event, he requested oysters, bacon, onions, and eggs for his last meal. He thought it would take a long time to come up with those ingredients, especially the oysters.

It’s too bad for the macho reputation of the dish and for the rambunctious, gold-mining image Placerville promotes, that one restaurant serving Hangtown Fry today is called … Buttercup Pantry.