- Volcano, California
Volcano is an
unincorporated community inAmador County, California . The town sits at convert|2200|ft|m abovesea level and the current population is approximately 85. It is located at coord|38.4426|N|120.6316|W|, just north of Pine Grove. The town is registered asCalifornia Historical Landmark #29. The community is inZIP code 95689 andarea code 209 .The town is named for its setting in a bowl-shaped
valley which earlyminer s thought was caused by a volcano. The early morningfog rising from the valley floor only reinforced that belief. The spot was discovered in1848 by Colonel Stevenson's men, who mined Soldiers Gulch in1849 . In1851 apost office was established and by April1852 there were 300 houses. By1853 the flats andgulch es swarmed with men, and there were 11 stores, 6 hotels, 3 bakeries, and 3 saloons. Hydraulic mining operations, begun in1855 , brought thousands of fortune seekers to form a town of 17 hotels, a library, a theater, and courts of quick justice. During the Civil War, Volcano's gold served the Union — Volcano Blues smuggled thecannon "Old Abe" to quell rebel sympathizers. The cannon was cast by Cyrus Alger & Co. in Boston in 1837 and is the first of two 6-pounders made on the same day to be stamped with serial number 4. The other cannon still survives at Shiloh Battlefield and is called "Shiloh Sam". Abe is the only cannon of that age in the U.S. still on a 19th. Century wooden carriage, and has had an interesting history all on its own.Volcano is the birthplace of
Harry Liversedge , two-time track star at both the 1920 and 1924Olympics and later Brigadier General best known as the leader of the regiment figured in the historic Iwo Jima flag raising, died in 1951 after almost 25 years of Marine Corps service.Although small, Volcano is a town of many "firsts":
*1854 Firsttheater group in California
* 1854 First debating society in California
* 1854 First circulatinglibrary in California
*1855 Firstprivate school s in California
* 1855 First privatelaw school in California
*1856 First legalhanging in Amador County
*1860 Firstastronomical observatory in California
*1978 Firstsolar still in CaliforniaThe observatory was established by
George Madeira and is where theGreat Comet of 1861 was discovered (in the U.S.). It is registered as California Historical Landmark #715.Volcano is also home to [http://www.caverntours.com/BlackRt.htm Black Chasm Caverns] , a
National Natural Landmark .Community theater, first established in 1854, continues in the town through the efforts of the Volcano Theater Company. The company conducts a full season each year, performing in both the 35-seat Cobblestone Theater and in the larger outdoor Volcano Amphitheater.
Politics
In the state legislature Volcano is located in the 1st Senate District, represented by Republican
Dave Cox , and in the 10th Assembly District, represented by RepublicanAlan Nakanishi . Federally, Volcano is located inCalifornia's 3rd congressional district , which has a Cook PVI of R +7 [cite web | title = Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest? | publisher = Campaign Legal Center Blog | url=http://www.clcblog.org/blog_item-85.html | accessdate = 2007-10-20] and is represented by RepublicanDan Lungren .References
External links
* [http://www.volcanotheatre.org/ Volcano Theater Company]
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