What lies beneath the surface of Folsom Lake?

The crisp, clear waters of Folsom Lake are synonymous with summertime fun to those living in the Granite Bay area. But this wasn't always the case. Just under 50 years ago, Folsom Lake didn't even exist. In fact, grape vines, lush vegetable patches, grazing cattle and oak groves were more likely to be seen than beachgoers or boaters. But the story behind Folsom Lake starts way before ranchers like Don Miller, George Townsend, Jr. and the Reese family were displaced by the Army Corps of Engineers to make way for the Folsom Dam. The story of Folsom Lake begins with the Native Americans who lived off the land where the north and south forks of the American River meet. The Nisenan, also known as the Southern Maidu, occupied the Central Valley and foothills area for centuries before Europeans crossed water or land to discover California. According to a report compiled by Sharon A. Waechter and Steven D. Mikesell for the Bureau of Reclamation in 1994, the Nisenan occupied the land now under Folsom Lake for thousands of years. The Nisenan may have had a village and used the area to trade with other tribes. As hunters and gatherers, the Nisenan collected acorns which were dried, shucked and pounded into a fine meal as well as hunted small game and fished the American River. A predominately peaceful people, the Nisenan tribes would then trade for black oak acorns, manzanita berries and sugar pine nuts from tribes in higher elevations and oyster shells, shell beads and basket roots from tribes closer to the coast.When Franciscan priests began to establish missions along the coast in 1769, they brought with them diseases, like malaria, which nearly wiped out the native population in 1833. In 1840, the Mexican government, which had control over much of California, gave Swiss immigrant John Sutter permission to build a fort on the south bank of the American River and eight years later gold was discovered in Coloma.The discovery of gold forever changed the whole area, and the land that would become Folsom Lake was no exception. By the mid-1800s, more than 20 bustling settlements occupied the area. By 1853, the largest - Mormon Island - had about 2,500 residents, a school, seven stores, two blacksmiths, a bakery, hotels, saloons and a post office. It was even a stop on the stagecoach line four times a day. Other pioneer settlements also dotted the area. Bean, Poker Bar, Cartonville, Doton's Bar and Horseshoe Bar were among Placer County's centers of civilization. Many of the names of the old settlements live on as recreational points in the current Folsom Lake State Recreational Area.As early as 1931, The Folsom Telegraph reported rumors of plans to build a dam to better control the region's water. Seen as a valuable way to not only control flooding, but to store water for drinking and irrigation as well, the Folsom Dam became more than just rumor 10 years later as talk of a federal project turned to serious planning.By 1950, the plan for Folsom Dam and the reservoir that would become Folsom Lake went into action. The Army Corps of Engineers began planning, excavating and acquiring the 18,000 acres needed for the project.According to a series of articles by Joe Blenkle in the Sacramento Union during the later half of the 1950s, most of the landowners were resigned to the buyout. Though some, like the 300-acre Miller ranch at Salmon Falls, had been in the family for five generations. In a Nov. 26, 1950 article, Mrs. Miller (whose first name was not given) said, "We're in the same boat as a lot of the other old-timers. It isn't going to be easy giving up things we have possessed most of our lives, but we'll make the best of it."For some the buyout was a blessing - a well-deserved retirement from a life of hard-working farm life. To others, like George Townsend, who lived on 367 acres on Mormon Island, it was the end of an era.According to the Blenkle series, Townsend lived on the George Crooks ranch in an ancient miner's shack. He lived a life much like the pioneers, producing and canning fruits and vegetables grown on the lush land. Though displaced, even Townsend seemed to take the move in stride. Though he intended to stay on the land as long as possible, Townsend said in a Nov. 26, 1950 article, "I haven't got anything to worry about. There's lots of land in California a man can grow a living on."Perhaps bitterness grew with time - and as the fruits of the buyout diminished and the children grew up without inheriting land that had been in the family for generations, sadness for what was lost emerged.In the transcript of an interview by Marjorie and Will Egloff in May of 1986 with Marguerite Hoxsie, whose family was one of the last to leave the reservoir area, Hoxsie referred to the Folsom Dam as the "Damn Dam." Though very few artifacts remain, there is a lot of history just below the surface of Folsom Lake.For more information on Folsom Lake and the surrounding area, visit the Folsom History Museum on Sutter Street in Folsom. Susan Jameson can be reached at susanj@goldcountrymedia.com.