Coleman City, also called Emily City, is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It lies at an elevation of 3601 feet. It is located on State Highway 78 where it crosses Coleman Creek, about four miles west of Julian.

History

Coleman City was founded in the early months of 1870 by the first placer miners who rushed to Coleman Creek, following the news of the discovery of gold there by

A. E. Coleman A. E. "Fred" Coleman was a former slave credited with discovering gold in Julian, California and thus launching a gold rush in that area. Coleman was employed as cattle herder and living in the Julian area with his Kumeyaay wife Maria Jesusa ...

who first discovered gold there in January 1870. Coleman, with earlier experience in the gold camps in Northern California, subsequently formed the Coleman Mining District and was its recorder. He also established the Emily City mining town site. This mining camp, later renamed Coleman City in his honor, served the placer

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

miners along Coleman Creek in the Coleman Mining District. The San Diego Union reported on February 17, 1870 that the camp had 75 miners inhabiting it. On March 17, following the discovery of the Washington Mine, it reported Coleman City consisted of a dozen tents with a population of 150 men, many sleeping on the ground in the open. Richard F. Pourade, The Glory Years, Union-Tribune Publishing Comopany, San Diego, 1964, Chapter 4: The Mountain that Sprouted Gold
/ref> After the discovery of the

lode In geology, a lode is a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fissure (or crack) in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock. The current meaning (ore vein) dates from the 1 ...

gold deposits near Julian the Julian Mining District was formed and with the depletion of the placer deposits, Coleman City was abandoned.

References

{{authority control Former settlements in San Diego County, California Populated places established in 1870 Ghost towns in California History of San Diego 1870 establishments in California