Five exceedingly rare, early views of Dutch Flat in Placer County, CA, in the 1850s. These salted paper print photographs show the mining region within a decade of its inception...
Five exceedingly rare, early views of Dutch Flat in Placer County, CA, in the 1850s. These salted paper print photographs show the mining region within a decade of its inception in 1851. Thoughtfully-composed, there are three views of homes along the sloping landscape and one birds-eye view of the town (which is rather faded).
The last image, a beautiful and richly-printed view of a lumber mill with a woman artistically-posed in a cabin doorway, most likely shows Garland's Mill, which operated nearby in Placer County. The photograph bears numerous similarities to an 1858 view of the mill held by the George Eastman House, which has been attributed to Charles Leander Weed. The present photograph was likely shot earlier than the Weed image, given the density of the forest and size of the lumber operations.